Impossible
by AmorVincitOmnia7e
Summary: They say that only insecure boys will belittle a woman. And that the greatest way to "man-up" is to empower them. Scorpius Malfoy and his friends saw nothing wrong with objectifying women, and when one of the boys introduces a method of rating girls, most of them see nothing wrong with that either. Up until a fiery redhead finds out about what they've been saying behind her back.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: This is my first story on Fanfiction, got my inspiration when I heard the boys I live with discussing a rating chart they saw on LadBible. So please if you like it, review!**

**The story will be told in Scorpius' POV unless explicitly stated otherwise. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, any character you don't recognise I've probably made up, but apart from that I'm just orchestrating the works of good ol' JK.**

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"Come on, Potter. Longbottom's working at The Leaky Cauldron all day, and none of us are gonna tell him what you rated his sister."

"I don't give a shit whether or not Frank is here," I heard James snap. As I grew closer to the pool of the Burrow, where my friends were gathered around, I could see the eldest Potter brother folding his arms across his chest. "Alice is my girlfriend, and I refuse to rank her using some _stupid_ rating system."

"Oh come on, Jamesy," Albus said playfully, nudging his older brother. I could see the surprise on his face, even from a distance. He couldn't blame him; over the course of the five years we'd had been at Hogwarts, we'd seen James with dozens of girls. "Two or three months ago you would've ranked any girl and not felt guilty about it."

"That's where you're wrong, Al. He still wouldn't have ranked Alice," Fred piped up, stretching his freckled arms upwards before resting back on them. "Always had a soft spot for her, even before he finally plucked up the courage to tell her he had feelings for her. I remember back in our second year, when we watched her get sorted into Hufflepuff. Frank was upset, but _Merlin_, James was terrified for her, not knowing anyone in her house."

"Potter!"

"You soppy git."

"Who knew there was a girl out there who actually has the ability to make James Potter _feel_?" I said teasingly, grinning at the older boy as I sat down next to him. James simply rolled his eyes back, knowing the I was only joking.

Since Albus had been sorted into Slytherin in and had started hanging out with a group of boys in his own house, naturally the older Gryffindor boys had taken us under their wings. I would never admit it, but I always saw Frank, James, Fred and Louis as the older brothers I never had.

"Trust me, when you meet the right girl, you'll just _know_," James said, confident in his love for the auburn-haired Hufflepuff. I could see by the twinkle in James' brown eyes that he was serious about her, and I couldn't help but think of how happy he'd been when he'd proudly announced to us that she'd agreed to go to Hogsmeade with him. "I would choose a movie night with Ali over a Quidditch celebration anyday."

"You're whipped."

"Are you sure you can't rank her?"

"Fuck off, Stack."

Tobias Zabini (known more commonly as Toby), Benjamin Hamilton and Lucas Stack, the other three boys we hung out with, were all known for being notorious players. In fact, our entire group was, minus Lysander Scamander, who was currently on holiday in Romania with his twin brother, and we blamed that on the fact he was a Ravenclaw too caught up with his studies. Before James had started seeing Alice, none of us had ever had a girlfriend; we merely slept around, or got with a different girl every party. Yet, we were still that group of boys who girls naturally gravitated towards, despite being completely aware of our reputations.

"Potter, this chart is completely accurate," Lucas said, pulling a folded sheet of parchment out of his pocket. "Jake showed it to me, after one of his Muggle mates showed him. It's one of the only Muggle inventions you'll hear me praise." Jake was Lucas' twenty one year old brother, who worked at a nightclub in Ibiza. He'd been in Slytherin too, and whilst we hadn't been as close to him as we were the Gryffindor boys, we'd all thought he was pretty cool. "Explain exactly how this chart works then," Ben said, the curiosity clear in his voice.

"So, you rate a girl, first by her looks, then by her personality –"

"I already hate this concept."

"Shush, Potter."

"And with the two together, you work out what category she falls into."

"Category?"

"Well, if she's not very attractive and her personality isn't great, that's 'No Man's Land' –"

"Stack, that's horrible!" Louis protested, his lips curling into a frown. Louis Weasley, the moral compass of the group. Though he had his fair share of girls falling at his feet (the Veela genes probably helped a bit), he always knew the right way to treat them, and how to let them down gently. I was pretty sure he was the only one in our group who still managed to be friends with some of the girls he'd slept with over the years.

"It's just blunt and to the point," Lucas said matter-of-factly. Brutal honesty was a trait of Lucas' I had to admire; at least people could never accuse him of being two-faced. "If she's not that great looking but has a cracking personality, that my friends is what we call the 'Friend Zone.' If she's slightly more attractive, we've got 'Friends With Possibilities' –"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Come on, Al, surely you've got that one friend you'd just _die_ to shag. Or not even shag, but you're kind of attracted to her."

"Think Tilly Clearwater," I said, turning to my best friend, my lips curling into a smirk as his cheeks tinged pink. Matilda Clearwater was a Ravenclaw in our year, whose long, chestnut hair was the envy of most girls. She'd been friends with our group since first year flying lessons, when she'd helped Lucas get his broom off the grass. Despite being a complete girly girl, Tilly was one of two girls who played on a Hogwarts Quidditch team, serving as Ravenclaw's Keeper.

"Okay, I get it," Albus murmured, clearly embarrassed by my dig. I'd seen the way he looked at her when she was helping him study for our Potions OWL, despite not being in our class, and I'd held it against him ever since. "So what are the other categories?"

"If she's considerably attractive but her personality isn't great, you make her a 'Friend with Benefits.'"

"Do people still do that? And not develop feelings for one another?"

"I'm sure it's possible. _Anyway_, stop distracting me. If she's highly attractive but her personality isn't great, she's known as 'Eye Candy.' Pretty to look at, but you wouldn't really want to go there. If they're highly attractive with a decent personality, you're 'Together But Not Going Out', otherwise known as casual dating."

"So you're not exclusive to one another, but you like each other?"

"_Exactly_, Ben! Now, the 'Relationship Zone' is a bit more complex. A girl lands in there if she's relatively pretty with an amazing personality, but can also be placed there if she's got an okay personality but is incredibly hot."

"_Right_."

"The 'Marry' bit is the same, but obviously to a higher degree."

"And what if she's got the perfect personality and she's insanely beautiful?"

"Please," I said, laughing dismissively at Toby's innocent question. "There's no such thing as the perfect girl." "As scarily cynical as you are, Scor, you're right. That section's called 'Impossible' because there is no such thing."

"What are you idiots doing?"

I fought to keep a scowl off my face at the irritatingly familiar voice, and turned my head to see Rose Weasley walking towards us. _Great_.

Despite my friendship with her cousins and family friends, Weasley and I had never seen eye-to-eye. If I were to look for a reason, it would probably be the rivalry between our fathers. That and our competitive natures.

Since First Year, everything had been a competition with us. She was top of pretty much every class, to my disdain. No matter how many hours of studying I put in, I couldn't beat her, I could simply match her a large majority of the time. We both played as Chasers on our respective teams, and I'd never wanted to hex her more than when she won the award for Best Chaser at the end of last school year.

We just didn't get along; no matter how many times Al had tried to intervene, we just couldn't. It would normally start with the redhead making a cutting comment about me, so naturally I'd retaliate, and by the end of the argument, our wands would be drawn, ready to hex the other into oblivion.

I hadn't had to see much of her this summer, despite me constantly being at The Burrow, because she'd been working shifts at Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, but she still popped in every now and again. _Unfortunately_.

"Well, if it isn't my favourite cousin," Fred said, grinning up at her. I tried to conceal a laugh as James, Louis and Albus all began grumbling. Everyone knew that Fred had a soft spot for Rose Weasley, out of all their brood; she was just as much a sister to him as Roxy was. Albus had always said it was probably because Rose was the only female cousin who was interested in pranking and Quidditch, and had been from a young age.

"Hey," Weasley said, smiling at our group, her smile in my direction more-than-slightly forced. Well, at least she was being civil. "Just thought I'd warn you, Nana says you're not getting pumpkin pie unless you lot go upstairs and clean your rooms."

"Is she _joking_?" James whined. He might have been going into his seventh year, but James had the same maturity level as most second years. Rose shook her head, and I could tell by the twinkle in her blue eyes that she was as amused by the situation as I was. "I Floo'd in from work, and Nana was grumbling about how the bedrooms haven't been this messy since Dad moved out."

"Can't we just use a Cleaning Charm –"

"Please, you know Nana. No magic."

"Oh come _on_, Rosie. At least help us?"

"Help you? Why do you need help?"

"I've got about three boxes of WWW products that are gonna need to be carefully hidden."

Weasley rolled her eyes, but nodded, reaching for Fred's hand and pulling him up to his feet. James, Louis and Albus followed in turn, with Albus muttering that they'd be back soon.

"Ah, Rose Weasley," Lucas sighed as the petite redhead made her way back into the Burrow, leading her cousins. I could practically see his eyes glazing over at the sight of her long, lightly-tanned legs, clad in a pair of tiny denim shorts. "That girl gets hotter every time I see her."

"So, seeing as you practically start drooling whenever she's around us, would that make her a ten for looks on your stupid chart?" Toby said teasingly, moving his head before could Lucas hit him. "No girl is perfect lookswise," I muttered sullenly under my breath, trying to place how Lucas, and most of the male population of Hogwarts, could be so obsessed with the irritating girl who posed as my rival for just about everything I did.

Okay, that might be a _teeny tiny_ lie.

There was no denying Rose Weasley was good looking. In fact, she's one of the only girls I would actually consider labelling beautiful, not that I would ever admit that to anyone.

That was yet another thing that irritated me about the eldest child of Ron and Hermione Weasley: it just seemed so damn effortless to her. Most girls in our year spent at least an hour before breakfast in the Great Hall preening at themselves in the mirror but during the days spent at the Burrow over the years, I'd seen Rose come out of her bedroom looking immaculate. Then again, there was always that foul temper of hers to balance out how annoyingly good-looking she was.

"Oh come on, Scor," Ben said, rolling his eyes at the familiar disgusted tone in my voice, affiliated only with the Golden Girl herself. "We all know you don't like the girl, but even you can see she's easily the hottest in our year." I forced a scowl on my face and shrugged my shoulders, lying through my teeth. "There's loads of girls I can think of who are better looking."

"Oh yeah? Name them."

"Kitty Taylor."

"Cakes herself in make up."

"Lauren Carter."

"She looked better brunette than she does blonde."

"Megan Leese."

"Body like a twelve year old boy."

"Ouch, and I thought I was meant to be the shallow one," I chuckled, shaking my head in disbelief at Lucas' judgements of the three Slytherin girls I'd just named. "You and I both know that Weasley is hot. She ticks every single box."

"Oh Merlin, don't tell me there are boxes you tick off," I groaned, looking at the sheet of parchment with the chart on it. Sure enough, above the chart were two tables, one which supposedly helped you rate a girl's looks, and the other which helped rate her personality.

"I'm giving Weasley full marks for her boobs, ass and figure."

"What?! You're joking."

"I agree with Luc on this one. I would kill to see her naked."

"Half of our year probably have."

"Like you can talk, Scor!"

"Can we just give her a ten for looks?"

"You can't," I snapped, a weird feeling bubbling in my gut at the sound of two of my best mates lusting after the redhead. They looked up at me confused, as did Toby, who'd been silent the entire time, and I cleared my throat as I gestured at the table. "You can't give her a three out of three for her face. One of her eyes is slightly bigger than the other."

"So you're saying that we can't give Rose a three for her face because _one of her eyes is bigger than the other_?"

"Precisely."

"You're ridiculous."

"I just have high standards. Maybe if you idiots did you wouldn't be spending so much time fantasising about Weasley."

Even the thought of my best friends lusting after her made my blood boil. What was that all about?

"Personality is the hard one to rate," Lucas said thoughtfully as he wrote down what we'd been saying. "Because I don't know about you guys but Weasley isn't exactly known for being classy." I could agree with him on that. Apart from Alice, who'd been a family friend of hers since birth, Rose didn't hang out with other girls, and wasn't all that elegant. She was constantly surrounded by her male cousins, and swore so often that I was sure expletives were naturally embedded in her vocabulary.

"And there's no denying that she's pretty cocky and stuck up." Again, true. Not that I could call her out on it without being a hypocrite. Whenever Weasley would successfully shoot the Quaffle through a hoop, I'd catch her laughing proudly to herself, high-fiving one of her cousins before turning her attention back to the game. I itched to hex her every time she was given a higher grade for an assignment, the way she'd turn her head to smirk at me instantly had me reaching for my wand. Merlin, I dreaded to think about what I'd do if her OWL results were better than mine.

"She's funny, we'll give her that." Over the five years I'd known her, Weasley and I had gotten in our fair share of arguments. Okay, that was an understatement. We bickered so often that the Hogwarts population had accepted that the tall blonde Slytherin boy and the petite redhead from Gryffindor wanted to kill one another. It was perfectly normal to turn a corner and see the pair of us pointing our wands at one another, reading to duel. But whilst I was known for my harsh, blunt nature, Weasley was known for her sharp tongue and witty comebacks.

"As for sensible… we can give her half." "Why half?" I said curiously, raising an eyebrow at him. Though I disliked the girl, I'd never really thought Weasley to be _insensible_, and I felt myself feeling guilty at the fact we were pointing out her flaws. Oh man up, Scorpius. It's just Weasley.

"Because she's rational and pragmatic _at times_," Lucas replied, the corners of his lips curving upwards into a smile at the . "Don't tell me you've forgotten how she used Accio to get all the food in the Great Hall one dinner in fourth year because she was angry about how James' year had been abusing the House Elves' hospitality?"

Ah, how could I possibly forget that.

Weasley had come back from our weekly midnight Astronomy lesson to find the House Elves serving James and his friends food. Apparently, studying for OWLs had become incredibly stressful, and they'd been getting the Elves to deliver them food late at night instead of going down to the kitchens themselves.

Though everyone had thought her protest crazy (including McGonagall, who, although admiring Weasley's passion, obviously had to punish her with a month of detention), I couldn't help but respect her for it. Though we had House Elves ourselves at the Manor, I couldn't stand it when my grandfather belittled and berated them. I wouldn't ever be brave enough to stand in the Great Hall and criticise injustice in the world, though that was just classic Weasley. Not only was she the daughter of Hermione Weasley, who'd founded SPEW back when she was at Hogwarts, but she was the epitome of a true Gryffindor: brave, strong-willed and daring as they come.

"So that's… a three for personality and a nine for looks?" Toby said, leaning over me so he could look at the sheet of parchment. "What category does Weasley fall under on the ol' chart then?"

"Just a bit of eye candy," Lucas hummed, leaning back on his elbows. "Not that I'm disagreeing with that. She's fit but there's no way I'd want anything more than a quick shag with Rose Weasley. She's not really the kind of girl you date now, is she?"

For some reason, I found myself opening my mouth to defend her, but my potentially detrimental out-of-character action was saved by Albus sticking his head out of one of the windows of the Burrow.

"OI, YOU LOSERS WANT SOME OF NANA'S PUMPKIN PIE?"

I'd been on the Qudditch team with these boys since our second year, and never had I seen us all run so fast. We were so quick to run inside and land ourselves a slice each of Molly Weasley's pumpkin pie that we completely forgot about the chart Lucas had drawn out.

Little did we know, we'd be kicking ourselves about that in a couple months.


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Sorry for the massive gap in updating – I've been busy with University exams and coursework deadlines, but I've got a three month summer and I'm determined to finish this! Reviews appreciated**

**Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I don't own these characters, apart from ones which I've made up. All canon characters belong to Queen JK.**

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There was something about Platform 9 and ¾ on September 1st that always managed to put me in the best mood.

I think it was because we all spent the last two weeks of the summer with our families, and I was always excited to be reunited with the other boys. The penultimate week of summer was never bad; I loved staying with my Mum's parents at Greengrass Grove, and I got along pretty well with my younger cousins. But imagine the last week at the Manor, with just my parents and grandparents for company.

Was it any wonder that I was keen to get back to Hogwarts after that? During that week, I always found myself longing for a conversation about something other than blood purity and the history of the Manor, which was all Grandfather Lucius spoke about. I couldn't wait to see everyone and ask how their relatively normal summers had been.

"Malfoy."

_Okay_… almost everyone.

I fought to suppress a groan at the sight of the redhead who'd just addressed me, a typically smug smile on her face. Albus told me that Rose had received a letter personally signed by the Minister of Education _and_ the Minister of Magic, to congratulate her on her perfect O.W.L results.

Oh, and I mean _perfect_. The girl had somehow managed to get full marks on every practical and theory exam we'd sat, despite the fact I could recall her sneaking out with us for Fred's birthday the night before our Charms theory. If that wasn't enough to irritate me, apparently Kingsley Shacklebolt had also scored her sold-out Chudley Cannons tickets, to congratulate her himself.

I really couldn't stand her.

"If you're hear to gloat, Weasley, go ahead and get it over and done with," I snapped, glaring at the redhead in front of me. She didn't even flinch at my harsh tone of voice, though anyone else in this situation would have known to leave me alone. She'd probably become immune to its effect after years of the rivalry and scorn between us.

"Gloat about _what_, Malfoy?" she said, forcing the same sickly-sweet tone to her voice that she usually reserved for when she was sucking up to our Professors. All the teachers at Hogwarts seemed to forget that Rose worked at her family business, therefore having immediate access to a collection of pranks. Yet, unlike us boys, who had endured endless detentions after being caught red-handed, Rose had only sat through a handful. Even then, the professor who had caught her would always express their disappointment in her 'out of character' actions. She had them all fooled.

I folded my arms across my chest and looked down at her, feeling my lips curl into a smirk at the significant height difference; I'd actually forgotten just how small she was. It was no exaggeration to say that some of the lost-looking first years walking around the platform for the first time were a considerable amount taller than Weasley, who stood in front of me at just over five foot. And seeing as she was stood in front of me, who was more than a foot taller than her… well, that probably didn't help.

"Merlin, Weasley. Did you shrink over the summer?"

"Hilarious, Malfoy. You know full well you just shot up another two or three inches and you wanted to rub _that_ in my face."

"If you're here to brag, Weasley, so am I. You might have done better than me once again, but at least I'm capable of growth."

She snorted – have I ever mentioned how ladylike Weasley is? No? How odd, I wonder why I wouldn't have – and placed her hands on her hips. As she glared up at me, I noticed the familiar spark in her blue eyes, something I'd only ever seen in them when we were arguing. That, paired with the way her cheeks always flushed angrily, kind of made her even more attractive – _no_, shut up, Scorpius.

"Oh, wow," she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "That's a ability I'm really jealous of. If I had a choice between being tall or smart, I'd _definitely_ choose being tall. I mean, all _I_ get is a measly letter signed by the Minister, and tickets to a sold-out Cannons game. You get to be the first one to know when it's raining. What an incredible skill to add to your _stellar _list."

Despite the fact that what she'd just said had been a dig at me, I couldn't help but laugh at the retaliation. I wouldn't ever admit it to anyone if they asked, but I'd missed daily bickers with Weasley, and her witty comebacks. Finding someone who could verbally spar to the same extent I could was always hard, but I could always depend on Weasley to keep up with me. Her blue eyes widened as I threw my head back and laughed, and I watched in surprise as she started laughing too.

"Why don't I make a career in reporting the weather?" I chuckled, clutching my sides as they began to ache from laughter. "Who needs N.E. , I can just drop out now and become some sort of weather reporter guy!" I could see tears forming in her big blue eyes as she continued to laugh; who knew that the first time I made Weasley cry, it would be because of laughter.

"They do actually have people like that, you know," she said once she'd contained herself, rubbing her eyes with the back of her hand. I raised my eyebrows in confusion, having no idea what she meant, and she shook her head at me. "Weather reporters. Muggles have them."

"But where's the logic in reporting the weather?" I asked, scrunching up my nose in disbelief. "Surely there is none. Everyone just needs to stop being lazy and look outside their windows for themselves." "For once I agree with you, Malfoy," she said. _Wow, it really was a day of firsts._ "But then again, I do question a lot of things Muggles do. Mum and Dad make us stay with Mum's parents for the last week of summer, and I spend half my time there questioning everything they do."

"Like what?"

"Well, when I'm over there, I sometimes end up hanging out with the boys who live across the road from them –"

"Classic Weasel, one of the lads," I said, surprising myself with the bitter tone to my voice and praying she hadn't been able to detect it. Why did I care about the people Weasley hung out with? Guys constantly surrounded her; it was a fact of life, even if most of those guys were her cousins, or friends with her cousins. It had been that way since we were kids; she wasn't girly like the rest of her female cousins were, so she'd always opted to hang out with the boys.

"It was either that or hang out with their fifteen-year old sister Binky and her dog Princess," Weasley said, her lip curling in disgust at the thought. I suppressed the urge to laugh, knowing it would only wind her up even more. "Merlin, I thought she'd never stop talking about Edward and Jacob, whoever the hell they are. I can't stand girls who seem to think love triangles are romantic and hope that one day, two boys are fighting over them."

"Sometimes three people can be a great thing. Don't knock it 'til you try it, Weasley," I said suggestively, winking at her and smirking as her cheeks flushed. She might have been one of the most blunt and honest people I'd ever met but Rose still got flustered at the mention of sex, for a reason I wasn't sure of.

"I could've lived my whole life without the mental image of you engaged in a threesome in my mind. Thanks for mentally scarring me," she said, her cheeks still tinged pink. Her lips pressed together and I could tell she was lightly biting the insides of her cheeks, something she always did when she felt uncomfortable. "Anyway, I'm gonna go. I promised Lorcan and Lysander I'd sit with them." She began to walk away, but stopped quickly to flash me a quick smile. "Try and behave yourself this year, Malfoy."

"Did I just witness you and my cousin in friendly conversation?"

I grinned at the sound of my best friend, suddenly stood next to me, surprise clear on his face. My eyes searched for the redhead who'd just left, quickly finding her despite her height, in a crowd of brunettes and blondes. I could feel the corners of my lips twitching upwards at the sight of her, but I turned back to Al shaking my head. "Don't know what you're on about, mate. You must've been seeing things."

I always loved the start of a new school year: it was a chance to start over, in a familiar environment. But something told me that my unusually civil encounter with Weasley was the indication of a new beginning, and I was not ready for the changes headed my way.


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: Thank you to everyone who's favourited/reviewed, it honestly spurs me on to write more knowing people actually find this interesting! jaquelinee, I promise there's a lot more to this Rose than the cliche nerdy and beautiful. **

**And Peacock33, as much as I agree, girls are attracted to bad boys! And you'll just have to wait and see what happens with Rose and Scorpius... **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters whose names you recognise. **

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"I'm telling you, there's something going on with your cousin."

"You're gonna have to be a bit more specific than that, mate," James said, speaking up so I could hear him over the other boys' chatter. His lips curled into a grin as he shuffled the pack of Exploding Snap cards in his hands. The look in his eyes told me he knew exactly which cousin I was talking about; the same cousin of his I always complained about. Except for once, I wasn't complaining about something she'd done, I just couldn't understand what was going on.

"You know he means Rosie," Fred said, smirking and taking my silence as confirmation that he was right. I scanned the Inter-House Common Room, praying that the topic of our conversation wasn't in the room, before turning to glare at Fred. "She's not here, Scorp, don't panic. And since when do you care about Rose knowing what you think about her?"

He was right about that too.

Weasley and I didn't have the stereotypical relationship of two people who disliked each other, not two normal people our age anyway. We didn't make up rumours about one another, or spill pumpkin juice on the other's homework. Sure, we had the occasional duel in the hallway, but we'd never had any problems with sneaky bitching. If I was ranting about her to the other guys, it was usually after I'd taken my frustrations out on her and she'd retaliated.

But this was different.

"Because for once I'm actually not annoyed at her," I said, sinking into the armchair next to him. I watched as James dropped the cards he'd been ready to deal, as Fred sat up straight and as the other guys turned to face me, eyes widened in shock. Merlin, you'd think I'd just announced to them that I was dropping out of Hogwarts to become the next Dark Lord. "What?"

"Did you just say you weren't annoyed at Rose?"

"You're not coming to complain about losing some fight with her?"  
"Or about her getting a better grade?"

"You make it sound like all I do is bitch about her," I snorted, rolling my eyes as Fred's eyes widened even more. "Now what?" "You do realise you just snorted after a snide comment like Rose does," James said, throwing his head back and clapping his hands as he laughed. "Merlin, Scor, hurry up and tell us because you're kind of freaking me out here."

"You know I told you we actually managed to have a civil conversation last week? Before we got on the train?"

"Yeah…"

"Since then, we haven't had a single fight. Like, nothing. She didn't even kick up a fuss when I got a higher grade than her in our Defence Against the Dark Arts holiday work."

"Maybe she doesn't care anymore."

"It's _Weasley_. Of course she cares about her grades."

"Maybe she's matured and can't be bothered to argue anymore."

"We all know that's not true."

"What I don't get is why it's bothering you so much," Albus said, piping up for the first time since I'd entered the room. I raised an eyebrow at my best friend and he shrugged his shoulders at me. "Seriously, Scor. Rose doesn't argue with you for a week and you're acting like it's the worst thing that could happen to you." I let what he was saying sink in, and began to wonder the same thing: why did I care?

"Maybe you spending less time arguing with her and more time studying will mean you're more of a competition for her," Lucas said, picking up the cards again and beginning to reshuffle them. "I mean, you two compete when it comes to anything, but grades have always been the one thing she consistently beats you with." "I hope that works with your Quidditch too," Toby said, grinning as I scowled at him. "Not that you're completely awful, but with the other Slytherin Chasers graduating, it would be nice if you could set the standard for the fresh meat. Me and Al need you to be hot stuff on the pitch."

"Speaking of hot stuff on the pitch," Ben said, and by the teasing tone of his voice, I knew exactly who'd walked into the room. I glanced at Al's burning cheeks (though he might not have inherited the redhead gene, he still blushed like a true Weasley) before turning to look at Tilly Clearwater.

Tilly flashed us a smile as she walked past, and I could practically see drool dripping for Albus' mouth. We'd been back at Hogwarts just over a week and as it had done every year, Albus' infatuation had grown even stronger, so much so that I was surprised she hadn't noticed yet.

But that was the thing with Tilly; some girls (like Weasley) knew guys found them attractive and often used it to their advantage, but not her. Not to say she was completely hopeless with boys, Albus had been crushed when the pretty Ravenclaw had landed herself a boyfriend last year. But Oscar Wood had graduated now, and the last I'd heard, they'd mutually agreed to end their relationship.

"Tilly looks good this year, doesn't she Al?" Toby said, his eyes following her curvy frame as she made her way over to one of the soundproof study tables at the back of the common room. "I seriously hope you grow the balls to ask her out or make a move, whatever it is you want to do. Because girls who look like _that_ won't be single forever. Look, Lysander's already making a move on her."

Sure enough, Tilly had sat down next to Lysander, who seemed far too pleased for someone who was supposedly just his friend. It would make sense; since we'd come back, the twins had been surprisingly distant. And I didn't mean that they'd been too busy to come for a drink, they just weren't hanging out with us at all. The first few days back, I hadn't seen one without the other. Maybe the reason they'd stopped hanging out with us was because they felt guilty about Lysander fancying the girl Albus had liked for years.

"They might just be friends, let's not jump to conclusions," Fred said reassuringly, patting Albus on the shoulder. Despite his namesake, Fred had always taken after his father, in the sense that he was the more sensitive towards others out of him and James. Proving my point, James scoffed, shaking his head. "Please. '_Friends_' is what I used to say Alice and me were when we were secretly hooking up and didn't want Frank to know."

"Where are Frank and Louis anyway? They disappeared right after dinner."

"No idea. Maybe they've got detention."

"Don't change the subject, Fred. Anyway, the difference is that Tilly and Lysander are not siblings, therefore something could actually happen there," Lucas said, holding up his hands as I glared at him. "And honestly, can you blame him? I mean, I'm all for the bro code and not getting with my friend's girl but look at her!"

"The things I'd do to that girl," Toby said, winking in my direction to show me he was exaggerating to wind up Albus. "I'd make sure the Quaffle wasn't the only ball she'd grab." "I'd do our house proud and just _Slyther-in_," Ben added, and I could tell he was trying his hardest to suppress his laughter as Albus' cheeks burned.

"Heard Tilly's pretty good at managing Wood."

"I've heard a broom isn't the only thing she's good at riding."

"Personally, I wouldn't need Aguamenti."

"Or Accio."

"If I got my hands on her, let's just say Madam Pince wouldn't be the only one screaming in the library."

"Better yet, take her to the old girls' bathroom and Myrtle won't be the only one moaning."

We'd been so busy laughing at the childish innuendos we were coming up with that we'd failed to hear the door of the common room slam open, and didn't notice the furious redhead storming over in her Quidditch kit, until it was too late.

"JAMES! FRED!"

I watched as the two boys in question exchanged looks of fear, which quickly turned to ones of pain as their younger cousin grabbed their ears, twisting them and pulling them to their feet. She dragged them out of the room and as they went I could hear her yelling echoing through the halls.

"HOW DARE YOU FORGET THE QUIDDITCH PRACTICE WHICH WE RESCHEDULED BECAUSE YOU TWO IDIOTS DIDN'T WANT TO GIVE UP YOUR FRIDAY NIGHT! YOU TWO ARE SINGLE-HANDLEDLY THE MOST STUPID, INCONSIDERATE –"

"What was that about you saying she might have matured Toby?"

"Bloody hell, for someone so small she's got a right temper on her."

"She's a Weasley," Albus chuckled, an amused smile on his face. "And you'd think those two would know better than to intentionally piss off Rose."

As amusing as it was to see Weasley taking out her anger on someone other than me, I couldn't help but miss the spark in her blue eyes when we were arguing.

But I should've thought to be careful what I wished for.


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: I've just come back from Amsterdam (which is amazing) and I'm such a good mood I thought I'd treat you guys to a double update! Thank you for the reviews, please keep them coming as they are my motivation! (If anyone of you want to PM me with questions about any of the characters, feel free to - I'll answer anything you want me to within reason haha) **

**Disclaimer: I solemnly swear that I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters whose names you recognise**

* * *

One thing my mother had always told me was that I was incredibly perceptive. When I was a kid, I'd always be the first to notice if she'd change the flower arrangements or if she bought a new set of robes to wear to the Ministry. And that hadn't changed as I'd grown older; when James stopped coming out last year, I'd been the first to notice his improvement in hygiene, and the fleeting looks over at the Hufflepuff table.

I also had a knack for finding people. Not in a stalkerish way, though it does sound a bit odd. Hogwarts was a big castle, but you'd have to be an idiot to not notice that everyone has their favourite places that they go to if they want a bit of alone time. Personally, mine was under the giant tree, by the Black Lake. During sunny days, it was too crowded, surrounded by idiot second and third years who seemed determined to get a tan despite the less than tropical climate in Scotland. Albus' was the Astronomy Tower, Toby's was the courtyard.

Rose Weasley liked to bask in the solitude of the kitchens.

I only knew that because I'd been down there after several tiring Quidditch matches, only to find her sat cross-legged on a counter, with a book and a cup of tea by her side. We never spoke about it, and I hadn't even told her cousins she liked to go down there so much. But I'd never understand the inner workings of Rose Weasley; apart from her family and family friends, she didn't really hang out with anyone else. I wouldn't call her a loser, I was aware there were loads of people who would've loved to be friends with her, but for some reason she was always more comfortable when she was left with her own thoughts.

"Weasley?"

She jumped slightly at the sound of my voice, looking up from the book in her hands. Her face was void of any emotion as she stared back at me, and I couldn't help but think how she was much prettier when she smiled. For a second, her lips parted and it looked like she was going to say something but she turned back to her book, completely ignoring my presence.

I wasn't used to this Rose Weasley. The Weasley I'd known for the past five years would have arrogantly accused me of following her because I fancied her, or merely told me to bog off. Since I'd known her, we'd done nothing but wind one another up and argue, and I was kind of missing that. As disorientating as it was, I even would've preferred civility, like before we'd gotten on the train a few days ago. I just wasn't used to getting no reaction from her.

"So, why'd you always sit alone in the kitchens?" I said, hesitantly stepping towards her and leaning against the counter next to her. She didn't even look up from her book this time. "Malfoy, I could question a lot of the things you choose to do, but I don't. And I suggest you mind your own business and take the same approach with me."

Her cold tone was something I was far more familiar with. I resisted the urge to smile; as much as I hated predictability and lack of change, I didn't like the absence of my rival in my life for a reason I couldn't put my finger on.

"How was Quidditch practice yesterday? You'd better be putting in extra hours if you want a chance against our team."

"We'll be fine."

"You sure about that? Heard you've not got any Chaser subs. That confident in yourself?"

"I suppose."

I felt the corners of my lips curl into a frown as I stared at the girl next to me. I wasn't used to short, clipped answers from her; Weasley was either fiery and argumentative or cold and cutting, there wasn't ever an in between, where she couldn't even be bothered to engage in a bit of small talk. Since when did I have to make small talk with her in the first place?

"What's up with you?" I said, cringing inwardly as I heard the clear annoyance in my voice. I sounded like a whiny girlfriend, the type of relationship I definitely did _not_ have with Weasley. I coughed, continuing in my normal tone of voice. "You've been so weird since we've come back. I preferred when we were arguing, at least we were actually able to have some form of conversation!"

"We had a conversation before we got on the train," she snapped, and I resisted the urge to smile at the familiar spark in her eyes. "Yeah, and we were actual civil to one another for once," I said, raising my eyebrows at her as she scowled at me. "I'd rather us be like that than you being all closed off and distant."

"I've only been distant because I've had other things on my mind. And maybe I was nice to you because I thought we could call a truce and actually get along this year," she admitted, folding her arms across her chest defensively as I widened my eyes. "I thought you'd kind of changed, you must have if we were able to talk normally but I heard you talking about Tilly Clearwater and realised you hadn't changed a bit."

"Oh come on Weasley, we were just having a laugh. Trying to wind Albus up like we always do."

She sighed heavily, slipping off of the counter and crossing her arms as she glared up at me. "You seriously don't get it, do you?" As I shook my head, she snorted. "Of course you don't. It's not that you were winding up Albus, it's the way you were talking about her. I know you love making a sexual innuendo every now and again but you guys talk about girls like they're the latest broom in the market, and it's disgusting. All you guys talk about nowadays is girls."

I bit my bottom lip, turning away from her piercing blue eyes. I didn't have to look at her to know they were filled with disgust and disappointment, I could just feel it. "I've heard you say stuff like that, and I've also heard you ripping girls to shreds, criticising every little thing about them, things they're probably insecure about themselves. Just wait until you guys fall in love with a girl, like James has. Trust me, you'll treat her like she's the most precious thing in the world. And you'll be willing to do anything to hurt the guy that made her cry."

I turned to look at her in surprise as her voice cracked with emotion, but she'd slipped off the counter and was already making her way to the entrance of the kitchens, her book pressed against her chest. "I don't know what makes you guys think you have the right to belittle people like that." She turned to face me, perfectly composed, and I couldn't help but wonder if I'd imagined the sad tone of her voice. As she reached the entrance, she turned to face me, her lips curled in disgust. "You're a bunch of arrogant pricks as far as I'm concerned. And you're one of the worst."

And with that, she left me stood there in the kitchens, alone and completely in shock.


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: Part II of my double update. Reviews would still be appreciated, it's a dramatic one!**

**Disclaimer: I am not JK Rowling, nor do I own the Harry Potter franchise.**

* * *

"Is he okay?"

"I don't know, he's been like this since Thursday."

"It's like he's in his own little bubble. Should we ask him what's wrong?"  
"I'm scared if we do, he'll explode at us."

"I'm sure he'll be fine later. Always has his head in the game."

I ignored my friends as they whispered about me, acting as if I hadn't heard what they were saying. I knew they were worried about me; since my interaction with Weasley in the kitchens, I'd been in an absolutely foul mood, snapping at anyone who was brave enough to talk to me. I continued shoveling spoonfuls of cereal in my mouth as I looked over to the Gryffindor table, at the person who'd managed to get me so pissed off.

The worst part of all of this was that the redhead sat two tables away didn't seem the slightest bit affected by our talk. Rose Weasley was sat at her usual place at the Gryffindor table: in the middle, with her scarlet hair tied into a French plait, surrounded by the rest of the Gryffindor team as she discussed tactics.

Despite the fact I'd mocked her a few days ago in the kitchens, I was worried about our first match of the season being against Gryffindor. She might have been the only girl on the team and the shortest by at least a foot, but Rose was their captain, and unlike most other House teams, they had the advantage of time on their side. Rose, Fred, Louis, James, Frank, Lorcan and Hugo had known one another their entire lives, and according to Albus they'd played Quidditch together since Ron had given Hugo his first flying lesson, aged five. They didn't even have to yell commands across the pitch to one another; a simple look between them was enough to non-verbally communicate what the plan was.

As if she'd sensed me looking over, her head snapped up and her blue eyes met my grey for a brief moment, before she scowled and turned back to her teammates. I felt anger boiling inside of me, tightening my grip on the spoon in my hand. I had no idea why I was so bothered by what she'd said, Weasley had insulted me countless times in the past, so why was this time any different?

"Scor? You ready to head down to the pitch?"

I nodded, standing up and turning to face Albus and Toby, who were also in their emerald Quidditch robes. Looks of concern were plastered on their faces, but I forced a smile on mine as I looked over at the Gryffindor table, where Lysander Scamander stood, wishing Rose and Lorcan good luck. "Let's go beat Gryffindor."

/

"AND THAT'S ANOTHER GOAL TO GRYFFINDOR!"

I scowled as I watched James stick out his hand to high-five Weasley as she flew past him, a triumphant smirk on her face. We were thirty minutes into the game and there still hadn't been any sign of the snitch, though Gryffindor were making things bloody difficult for us.

They'd really upped their game this year; Hugo was the youngest House Keeper yet he'd evidently inherited some of his father's talent, and had managed to deflect all but two goals. Impressive, compared to the eight Christopher Flint had let soar past him. Rose, Fred and Louis were yet to miss a shot, every single time they'd had the Quaffle, they'd managed to send it through one of our hoops.

"MALFOY HAS THE QUAFFLE – PASSES IT TO BURKE – OOH, IT'S A DOUBLE BLUDGER BACKBEAT FROM THE ELDEST POTTER – BURKE DROPS THE QUAFFLE RIGHT INTO FRED WEASLEY'S ARMS AND – CAN FLINT REACH THE RIGHT HOOP IN TIME? NO, HE SCORES! 90-20 TO GRYFFINDOR!"

"I'm beginning to wonder why I put Flint on the team," Albus spat bitterly as he flew over. His usually pale cheeks were flushed red, and I could tell by the way his brow furrowed that he knew it was incredibly likely that we weren't going to win this one. He sighed, wiping sweat off his brow with the back of his hand and patted me on the back. "If you can get close to Toby some point soon, tell him to aim all his Bludgers at Rose." I widened my eyes in surprise and Albus groaned. "Don't look at me like that, Scor. I love her, but she's the reason they keep scoring. Whether it's assisting or scoring herself."

I watched as a familiar redhead flew smoothly past me, the Quaffle tucked under one arm. I was itching to grab the end of her broom and shake it so she dropped the Quaffle, even if I would get yelled at for dirty play, but Louis and Fred were flying either side of her, acting like her own personal bodyguards. Not that she needed them.

"OH, BEAUTIFUL HAWKSHEAD ATTACKING FORMATION FROM THE WEASLEY TRIO. ROSE PASSES TO LOUIS WHO LOOKS LIKE HE'S ABOUT TO SCORE – NO, AMAZING REVERSE PASS – ROSE IS IN POSSESSION OF THE QUAFFLE AND – ANOTHER GOAL FOR GRYFFINDOR!"

"Fuck," I yelled, whacking my hand against my broom in frustration. At this rate the Gryffindors were going to win whether or not Albus managed to catch the Snitch. I scanned the pitch for Toby and sighed with relief as I saw he was only hovering a few metres away from me.

"Albus wants you to hit all your Bludgers at Weasley," I said, panting slightly. As Toby raised an eyebrow at me, I rolled my eyes at him and for what must have been the thousandth time since I'd come to Hogwarts, I cursed the ridiculous amount of Weasleys and Potters in the school. "Rose Weasley. Says she's the biggest threat to the team."

"He's not wrong," Toby said, raising his Beater's bat as a Bludger came flying towards me and hitting it towards Rose as she flew towards the direction of the Slytherin hoops once again. I watched as the redhead leaped up off her broom, narrowly missing the Bludger, before landing back on it and following her teammates as they flew towards the posts.

"She's annoyingly good at what she does, isn't she?" Toby said, his teeth gritted as he stared over at the Gryffindors. I couldn't help the fury coursing through my veins at the sight of Weasley; I just didn't understand how unaffected she was by all of this. My game had been off since the moment I stepped on the pitch, I'd only managed to score once in the past half hour and I hadn't had much more possession of the Quaffle. Her words kept replaying themselves in my head; I didn't know if it was the words themselves that bothered me, or the fact that I cared so much.

I blame what I did next on the fact that it was fuelled by anger and a momentary lapse of judgement.

As I saw a Bludger coming towards us, I grabbed Toby's bat and hit it as hard as I could towards the unsuspecting, petite redhead. Unfortunately, there was a reason I wasn't a Beater: I couldn't aim a Bludger the same way I aimed a Quaffle.

A sickening crack echoed around the pitch as the Bludger came into contact, full force, with Rose Weasley's wrist. I could hear swearing and roars of anger coming from the Gryffindor supporters, whilst nothing but cheers came from our team's supporters. Albus had his head in his hands, Toby was staring at me like I'd turned into some sort of three-headed animal and the Gryffindors looked absolutely fuming.

"What the fuck, Scor?"

"Seriously?"

"I thought you two had put this stupid rivalry behind you."

"That was a dick move."

Somewhere below us, I could hear Madam Hooch furiously blowing into her whistle, announcing that Gryffindor had been granted a penalty, but that was forgotten as I looked up and saw Rose Weasley flying towards me, looking absolutely livid.

"What the fuck, Malfoy?" she yelled, bumping her shoulder against mine so hard I would have fallen off my broom if it weren't for my quick reflexes. She looked even angrier up close, her lightly tanned cheeks were as red as her hair and she had a deathly look in her bright eyes. The hand that I hadn't hit was clenched into a fist and I knew she was probably using all the self-restraint she had in her tiny body to stop herself from punching me.

The smart thing to do at this point would have been to apologise for letting my emotions get the better of me, but apparently I'm not as clever as I would like to think.

"Don't shove me, Weasley," I spat harshly, my own fists clenched around my broom as I bumped her back. Her eyes flashed dangerously as she grabbed the end of my broom and began shaking it, and determined not to lose my balance and fall off my broom in front of the entire school, I grabbed hers and began doing the same.

"WATCH OUT ROSE!"

I looked up just in time to see Weasley getting hit in the face with a Bludger, pulling my broom down with her as she fell through the air. Albus later told me that the stands had been full of panic, particularly from our Professors, but also a few first years who were crying in terror.

Thank Merlin we hadn't been that high off the ground.

I groaned as I hit the hard grass surface, certain I would wake up in the morning with numerous bruises. But as I turned to the girl lying next to me, I knew I'd gotten off lightly.

Weasley's small frame was curled up into a ball as she whimpered in pain. Blood was pouring out of her nose, no doubt a result of the second Bludger hit, and her right wrist had significantly swollen up. I felt like I was going to be sick; we'd attacked one another a lot over the years, but none of our verbal fights or hallway duels had ever ended this badly. And _I_ was the reason she was injured this badly.

"Miss Weasley, Mr Malfoy." We looked up and saw Professor McGonagall and Madam Pomfrey amongst the crowds of people who were now surrounding us. Her thin lips were pressed into a line and whilst she remained composed in front of the rest of the school, I knew matters would be different when we were alone with her in her office. "Make your way to the Hospital Wing, but the second Miss Weasley has stopped bleeding, report _immediately_ to my office."

/

"- stupid, reckless not to mention life-threatening!" Professor McGonagall yelled, as she had been for the past ten minutes. I looked at the girl sat in the chair next to me; her nose had stopped bleeding but her face was still bruised and her arm had been put into a sling in order to protect the bones in her broken wrist.

"Miss Weasley, this is completely out of character, and quite frankly I am disappointed," she said, in a much calmer tone of voice and I watched as a guilty look crossed Weasley's face. Though she sucked up to the teachers all the time, so McGonagall was completely unaware of how mischievous she could really be, I was certain she'd never been called to McGonagall's office for resorting to physical violence. "Your parents will be disappointed too, I've already sent a strongly worded letter to both your homes."

I groaned, hanging my head in my hands at the potential outcome of my parents finding out what had happened today. My mother would probably ground me for a year, whilst my father would lecture me on the implications of resorting to physical violence and how only lower-class wizards used it.

"Due to the match being unfinished, a rematch has been rescheduled near the end of the year," she continued, shaking her head as my eyes lit up. "But you will only be allowed to play _after_ you've settled your issues in a week of detention and have each written Madam Hooch an essay on the various ways one can earn a foul in Quidditch."

I nodded, resisting the urge to let out a relieved sigh. A week of detentions wasn't that bad; sure, spending additional time with Weasley wasn't ideal, but it was better than what I'd expected. As if she'd read my mind McGonagall cleared her throat and continued. "If I don't see you at least _trying_ to get along during and after these detentions, I'll see to it that you're both cut from your respective teams for your lack of sportsmanship. And if you _dare_ do anything like that again, I'll strip you both of your Prefect badges. Are we perfectly clear?"

"Yes Professor."

"Yes Professor McGonagall."

McGonagall blinked in surprise at just how timid Weasley's voice had sounded when she'd answered, and I turned to look at her too. Her head was bowed slightly, her long red hair unbraided and falling in front of her face so I couldn't see whether or not there were tears in her eyes. "Alright, you're both dismissed."

With McGonagall's dismissal, she got up and left the room before I could see her face, however I felt a wave of guilt wash over me as I looked at her sling and the fact she was walking with a slight limp.

I remember reading once that anger doesn't solve anything: it builds nothing but it can destroy everything.

Merlin, were they right.


	6. Chapter 6

**AN: Thanks to the three people who reviewed and everyone who has followed/favourited this story! It's a long one so enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. If I did I wouldn't be struggling through uni. **

* * *

"I trust I can leave you two here for another hour without you resorting to physical violence," Professor Longbottom said, raising an eyebrow as he looked between Weasley and me. I looked up as a sign of acknowledgement and watched as his lips curled into an amused smile. "Get it? Leaf you to it?"

I turned to Weasley and saw her lips pressed into a line as she stared back at her Head of House, clearly not amused in the slightest. Professor Longbottom might have been the father of two of her best friends, not to mention best friends with her parents, but I knew she definitely wasn't in the mood to listen to a dad joke. Not after the week of detentions we'd had.

Professor Longbottom sighed as he realised he wasn't going to get a reaction from her and walked out of the greenhouse without another word, a look of guilt clear on his face. He'd been a Professor at Hogwarts for about twenty years now, but out of the Weasley/Potter brood he held a soft spot for Rose, and this was the first time he'd had to directly punish her.

As the door shut behind him, I turned back to face Weasley. The greenhouse was oddly silent; the only noise for the past hour had been our breathing and the occasional tired sigh. I couldn't help but wonder if we were actually going to talk; as the week had progressed, we'd been interacting more and more. But as much as I hated to admit it to myself, I actually missed her talking to me properly.

* * *

_**Monday night**_

_The silence in the trophies room was practically suffocating me. It was so quiet I could hear the blood in my ears, and I was sure I could hear both our hearts beating. I'd been sat here for the past two hours, on the other side of the room to Weasley, the pair of us managing to avoid even glancing at one another as we polished trophies. _

_In the brief moment I'd acknowledged her, as she'd walked in, I had noticed that her arm was still in a sling. Surely that couldn't make this task easy. I snuck a glance in her direction and saw she was sat cross-legged on the stone ground, a bucket of water next to her, a large Quidditch trophy in between her legs as she ran the damp rag over it. _

"_Malfoy?" _

_I gulped at the sound of my name, cringing inwardly as the noise rang through the otherwise silent room, and praying she'd hadn't heard it. "Can you pass me that other rag next to you? This one's getting a bit gross." My immediate instincts were to throw it at her, but I hesitated, once again noting the sling. _

_I lessened the distance between us, the sound of my footsteps echoing through the room as I made my way towards her, and her the corners of her lips curled upwards slightly as I placed the rag in her good hand. "Thanks."_

**/**

_**Tuesday night**_

"_I don't see why Minerva doesn't just cut all the Quidditch teams, the sport is completely barbaric," Madam Pince sighed, continuing her tirade against the history of Quidditch, which had been going on for at least half an hour. Despite the fact her petite, bird-like build would make her a rather good Chaser, I was sure the librarian had never ridden a broom in her life. _

_Out of the corner of my eye I could see Weasley shaking her head as she continued our task of alphabetising the library books which had been returned in the past few days. She might have spent more time in the library than the average student, but Weasley loved Quidditch, it was practically in her blood. It meant a lot if Weasley of all people found Madam Pince unpleasant, a thought communally shared by the rest of the student body. _

"_I have been at this school for years now and I will never understand the obsession with a sport which is essentially throwing a ball through circles and chasing after a smaller ball. And having people use a bat to hit a ball in the direction of other players in order to distract them… it is just so primitive." I resisted the urge to snort, knowing I'd probably get myself banned from the library for a fortnight. _

"_If I ran this school, all inter-house competition would be intellectual, like a weekly quiz night. Why is that not done?" _

_I looked over at Weasley again and found that she was looking straight back at me. Her pink lips were curled into an amused smile at what the Hogwarts' librarian had just said, and she rolled her blue eyes at the thought of a weekly quiz night. I shook my head back at her, chuckling softly at the thought myself, before going back to the task at hand._

**/**

_**Wednesday night**_

"_I'm telling yer Rosie, I'm abs'lutely gutted you didn' take my class for NEWT level, you were always so good at it." _

"_It wasn't personal, Hagrid, I promise. But you know I had to take Transfiguration to qualify for Auror training. And I'll still come and visit all the time." _

"_I know, I know. Godric, it seems like just yesterday that your parents and Uncle 'Arry were walkin' through this forest with me an' Fang. And look at ya, yer all grown up." _

"_You sound like my father," Rose said, laughing softly, the sound of her melodic laugh making me think of our conversation on the platform the first day of term. _

_We were walking through the Forbidden Forest with Hagrid; this was easily the best detention we'd had so far. Hagrid was an absolute softie, liked by every student, including me. He'd never shown any obvious sign of dislike towards me, despite his history with both my father and my grandfather, and this combined with his fondness for Rose had resulted in the easiest detention of the week. All we were doing was patrolling the forest for any sign of strange activity, and he'd promised us tea and biscuits in his hut afterwards. _

_I walked slightly behind them, not wanting to awkwardly stand there as they had their personal conversation. I'd learned from Albus that Hagrid was one of Rose's godparents, after all he'd done for the Golden Trio during their Hogwarts days, Hermione had felt it only right. I shone the flashlight in front of me, running forwards slightly and grabbing Rose's good arm as I spotted some Hippogriff dung in front of her. She looked up at me in surprise, but I carefully steered her out of the way, before stepping back once again. _

_But I couldn't help but think that I could have just let her step into it – last year I probably wouldn't have even interfered, wanting her to embarrass herself for my own amusement. So why had I stopped her now?_

_I shook my head as a ridiculous thought entered my mind, convincing myself it was just because I felt bad about landing us into this mess. _

_Yeah, that was it._

**/**

_**Thursday night**_

_I rubbed my nose for what must have been at least the sixth time since we'd been in the Divination classroom. The burning fire was giving off a heavy, sickly perfume, as it always did. Over the summer, I'd forgotten how irritating and overwhelming the smell was, flooding through the entire room. _

_I could see Weasley doing the same a few tables away, her eyes watering slightly as a result of the smell. It was a shame Professor Trelawney burned such a horrible scent; the classroom would have been quite pleasant otherwise: ornate armchairs and footstools surrounded the small circular tables, and the room actually resembled an old-fashioned teashop. _

_We were currently cleaning out tea leaves out of teacups; clearly the third years had just had the lesson where Trelawney predicted their futures by reading their tea leaves. Three years ago, I'd been shaken when she'd foreseen my death by looking at the shape my tea leaves had settled into, until I'd realised that despite the large part she'd played in the Second Wizarding War, my subject professor was completely mad. _

"_Thank Merlin I didn't take this onto NEWT level," I said absent-mindedly, shaking my head as I wiped another teacup clean. "I almost forgot how much I hated this class, I only took it because it was an easy OWL." Weasley nodded, using her sleeve to wipe unshed tears from her bright blue eyes. "For once we agree on something. I forgot how much I hated the smell in here."_

/

_**Friday night**_

"_Chuck that Felix Felicis, it looks like it's missing an ingredient," Weasley instructed, struggling to tie her hair up into a ponytail with her arm still in a sling, as we continued sorting out the Potions cupboard. We'd been told to throw out the bad potions, but as we were disposing of NEWT level potions, I was struggling to distinguish which ones were good and which ones were bad._

_Unbeknownst to the others, I had spent the last few weeks of summer pleading with Professor Slughorn to let me continue Potions at N.E.W.T level after I'd only just scraped an Acceptable. It was the most embarrassing grade I'd ever received; my mother was the only person who knew, and that was only because she'd caught me crying tears of frustration in my bedroom when I'd realised my future Healer career was in jeopardy._ _And no matter how much extra reading I'd done since we'd been back, the information just wasn't going in. _

_I stared back blankly at Weasley, my cheeks burning. I had no idea which potion she was on about, and as she was completely unaware of my dismal grade, I didn't want to have to verbally confirm my inadequacy in one of her best subjects. As her lips parted, I braced myself for the merciless teasing and patronising; I would have done the same if roles had been reversed, so why would Weasley not take the opportunity? _

"_The orange one," she said calmly, before turning back to the shelf she was emptying. _

_For the rest of our time in that stuffy cupboard, she made sure to describe the potions I should dispose of by colour as well as name, something that I was grateful for._

**/**

_**Saturday night**_

"_Try it again, Bradley, don't worry, take your time. Fli-pen-do," I heard Weasley say gently from the other side of the room as she patted the curly haired first-year's back reassuringly. Professor Thomas, our Defence Against the Dark Arts professor, had us tutoring some of the struggling first years. _

_We'd only been given a small group of four to work with: two Hufflepuffs, a Gryffindor and a Slytherin. Whilst I was working with the other three, Rose had specifically been given Gryffindor Bradley Taylor to teach. Professor Thomas had informed us that Bradley was a somewhat difficult student, with a fierce temper, but as he reminded him of a young Rose, he thought she'd be a calming influence on him. _

_Apparently not._

_I watched in horror as the boy, who was just a bit taller than Rose, clenched his fists and punched her in the stomach, taking a step back and pointing his wand towards her. _

"_Expelliarmus!" _

_His wand flew into my hand and I apologised to the other first-years before making my way towards them. "Bradley, punching Rose was highly unnecessary, especially because she was just nicely trying to teach you how to use the Knockback Jinx," I said, surprising myself with the serious tone of my voice. The blonde boy had the decency to look down guiltily, whilst Weasley looked up at me in shock, her blue eyes wide at the fact I'd actually come to her defence. _

"_I'm not giving you this wand until you apologise to her," I continued, frowning at the smaller boy who practically withered under my steely gaze and at how hard I was working to repress my anger enough that it wasn't completely obvious. _

"_Sorry."_

"_And?"_

"_I promise I won't punch you again."_

"_Thanks," Weasley said quietly, as I placed the wand back into the younger boy's hand. "You didn't have to do that." I shrugged, trying to act nonchalant. "You would've done the same for me. Any normal person would," I said plainly, before walking back to the other three first-years. _

_But I knew what I'd said wasn't completely true as I kept glancing over at her and the Taylor boy on the other side of the room, worried he'd hit her again_.

* * *

I couldn't help but stare at Weasley's stomach; wondering if Bradley had left additional bruising under her Gryffindor jumper. Because her sleeves were rolled up I could see bruises on the back of her arms from when we'd fallen a week ago. Albus had told me that his cousin bruised like a peach, and she also had bruises all over her back and sides, but I was partially glad to see that they'd paled from a harsh purple to a pale yellow-green. She'd had the sling removed this morning, after Madam Pomfrey had told her the bones in her wrist were now fine, but I couldn't help but wonder if they had fully recovered.

"Does it still hurt?" I asked, feeling myself blush as she raised a perfectly plucked eyebrow at me. "Albus said you had bruises all over the back of your body. And James said your wrist was pretty smashed up, which was why you had to wear a sling. Louis said he thought you should rest your arm for the rest of the season, but Fred said you'd want to be back on the pitch as soon as possible."

She didn't seem shocked by my ramble, in fact she scrunched her nose up and sighed. "I hate when they fuss," she said, referring to her male cousins. I was friends with all of them, but they'd done nothing but make me feel guilty for injuring Rose so badly in that match. She might have only been younger than Albus by a few months but even he took on the protective older brother role. "I'm a big girl, Malfoy, don't worry. I didn't even cry when the Bludger broke my wrist, you saw."

I couldn't help but grin as a thought crossed my mind. "If it had been Victoire or Dominique…" Weasley laughed, knowing exactly what I was referring to. Two summers ago, both Louis and Frank had been stuck in bed with dragon pox, therefore they'd been unable to partake in the annual Weasley and Friends Quidditch tournament. Victoire and Dominique had taken their places, after being guilt-tripped by Teddy and their bed-ridden brother.

"Vic cried in fear every time the Bludger came near her, and Dom would swear murder every time someone hit her," she giggled. A thoughtful look crossed her face and she paused before continuing. "But I think we've all established that I'm not really a girly girl like the rest of my female cousins."

I shrugged, making my way closer to her and continuing to trim Mandrake leaves. "It's not necessarily a bad thing. The guys think you're way more fun to be around, and you know they love you." "I suppose," she said, not looking all too pleased nonetheless.

I wanted to groan as we fell back into silence as a result of her short answer; I couldn't go back to this. "I am sorry you know," I said, biting my lip as she looked up at me again. "I was in a bad mood, I took it out on you and I really didn't mean to break your wrist so badly. And I didn't think you'd fall to the ground either."

"Malfoy, it's fine honestly. Like I said, I can handle a Quidditch injury or two, it's not like I haven't in the past," she said, setting the trimmers down on the table in front of her. A guilty smile crossed her face and I could tell she was lightly biting the insides of her cheeks. "Plus, I know you were in a bad mood because of our talk in the kitchens."

I stared at her in shock and she couldn't help but laugh bitterly. "Come on, Malfoy, we both know I'm not thick." She stared at me expectantly, and as I found myself unable to answer, she shifted uncomfortably. "I probably shouldn't have been so harsh."

Due to force of habit, I couldn't help but snort, snapping, "Yeah, would've been nice." She narrowed her eyes in my direction, and her fists clenched by her sides in frustration. She looked almost pained as she continued. "I'm _trying_ to apologise so can you stop being so difficult?"

I faked a gasp, holding a hand to my chest. "Rose Weasley? Apologise? Didn't know that word was even in your vocabulary." Her pretty features were fixed into a scowl as she snarled at me. "Likewise."

I felt my lips curl into a smirk, having one up on her for the first time in what felt like forever. "Yeah, but I actually managed to say the words 'I'm sorry', unlike you," I said teasingly. She squirmed, muttering something under her breath and I pretended like I had no idea what she'd said. "Sorry, what was that?"

She sighed heavily, folding her arms across her chest and turning to face me directly. "I'm _sorry_, Malfoy. Are you satisfied now?" My smirk turned into a relieved smile and I was pleasantly surprised as she laughed. "Godric, I never thought I'd be apologising. And to you of all people."

She unfolded her arms and picked up the trimmer once again, going back to what she'd been doing before. "Maybe you've grown up and matured a bit," I said teasingly, referring to what Toby had suggested about her the week before. Even in the darkness of the greenhouse, I could make out her lips curling into a smile at the ridiculous suggestion, and thought I'd test how far I could push her. "You might even end up letting me look at your Charms notes, now that we're kind of mates."

She turned to me, and I knew she was going to snap at me for my cheek, so I smiled reassuringly to show her I was joking. She rolled her eyes but laughed at me. "Don't push your luck, Malfoy."


	7. Chapter 7

**AN: HAPPY 4TH OF JULY TO ALL YOU AMERICANS OUT THERE. Let's celebrate with another double update! (Also because I appreciate the reviews and love, and Chapter 7 doesn't have any Scorpius and Rose) **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. If I did, I wouldn't have to stretch out my student loan to finance my summer **

* * *

"Hang on a minute, let me get this straight," Albus said, shaking his head in disbelief. "You're trying to tell me that you and Rose, _my_ cousin and _your_ rival for the past five years, have actually agreed to be friends now?"

I shrugged as the other boys turned to look at me too; the last thing I wanted to do was make them think I was happy given this change in our relationship. Because… well, I wasn't that bothered really. "Well, I made a joke about copying her Charms notes now that we were kind of mates and she told me not to push my luck." I paused thoughtfully; she hadn't actually said we were friends, so what were we? "Well, kinda. I don't know what we are."

"Quite frankly," Fred said, his voice void of its usual playful tone. "As long as you don't lose your temper again and _accidentally_ hurt our baby cousin, I don't really care what your relationship with Rosie is."

I felt my cheeks burn as he narrowed his eyes at me, his arms folded across his chest. Fred might have been one of my good friends but ultimately his loyalty was always going to lie with his favourite female cousin. To say he'd been angry after the match would be a serious understatement; I still jumped slightly whenever he gestured towards me, the memory of being pinned against a stone wall embedded in my mind. Thank Merlin James had stepped in and convinced him to apologise.

"He said he's sorry, and Rosie's accepted," James chuckled in an attempt to diffuse the tension. He punched Fred lightly in the shoulder, and I couldn't help but wonder how he could be so carefree about everything. "They've sorted it out so we all need to build a bridge and get over it." I raised an eyebrow at him, as did Toby and Lucas and he laughed. "Sorry, purebloods. Muggle expression."

I rolled my eyes at the teasing tone of his voice; though it wasn't ever a massive issue, James loved to wind us up about how ignorant we could be about everything outside the Wizarding World. Though my parents had encouraged me not to make the same mistake they made when they were younger by judging those who weren't purebloods, Muggle Studies hadn't been my best subject.

"And he slipped this _cute_ note into my textbook."

"Aw!"

"It must be so nice having a boyfriend."

"It has its perks."

We all turned as the sound of giggling reached us and I could see Lucas' eyes shine at the sight of the fourth year girls who had just walked into the Inter-House common room. He produced a piece of parchment and a quill from his pocket and I resisted the urge to roll my eyes as I saw the same chart he'd shown us a few weeks ago. Except this one didn't have some girls already marked onto it. "What happened to the old one?" I asked, leaning back into my armchair.

Lucas shrugged absent-mindedly, waving his hand over the quill and murmuring a spell under his breath so it wrote down whatever we said. "I must've left it at home. No big deal. Anyway, ratings for that stunning group of ladies over there?"

"Shannon Williams is definitely just a potential Friend with Benefits."

"She's so fit, how can you just limit her to that?"

"I've sat near her at Quidditch matches, she's got no personality whatsoever."

"Emily Orwin's quite cute. And she's so nice."

"A bit too nice to be in a relationship with."

"So, friends with possibilities?"

"I'd whack her in the ol' Friend Zone section. You want a girl like that as a mate, not a shag buddy."

"Ah, what about little Lily Luna Potter?"

Albus and James' heads simultaneously snapped up at the mention of their little sister. Though Fred wasn't as protective of Roxy, who was in the same year as Lily, Albus and James were fiercely protective of their little sister. At the Hufflepuff vs. Ravenclaw game last year, Albus had punched a boy in the year below us when he'd heard him discussing the things he would do if Lily were a year older. And sure enough when I looked up, Lily and Roxy were stood with Shannon, Emily and their Ravenclaw friends.

"Put that quill down," Albus ordered, his eyes not leaving his little sister her and Roxy walked in our direction. "Seriously, you can rate any of the others, but I'm not having you rate my little sister." "I don't know baby Potter that well but I'd definitely be her Friend with Benefits," Toby murmured, so only Lucas, Ben, Frank and me could hear him.

"Same. Look at those legs."

"And her bum. I'd date her if she was older."

"Nah I'd rather date Roxy. Looks like she could grow up to have a naughty side."

"Ew, guys. I've known them since they were in nappies, this is weird."

I sunk my teeth into my bottom lip in an attempt to stop me from laughing at Lucas and Ben's answers. They were lucky Albus didn't have better hearing or they'd be hexed straight into the Hospital Wing.

"Hi little sister," James and Albus chimed in unison, the way they always did. Lily allowed a scowl to cross her pretty face, probably used to her brothers' emphasising the age difference between them. "Hey Rox," Fred said, the corners of his lips quirking up. "What can we do for you two?"

"For once, we're not actually here to talk to you idiots," Lily said, rolling her eyes as her brothers faked hurt expressions. "I'm here to talk to Toby."

James' lips set in a thin line and Albus looked like his eyes were going to bulge out of his head. Toby's eyes were shining, and I could see that he was trying his hardest not to smirk. Unlike Rose, Lily didn't interact with our group that much, probably because we were in different school years. So what reason would their little sister have to talk to one of the most charming, good-looking guys in our year?

"Calm down you idiots," Lily said, shaking her head in disbelief as she guessed what thought was in all of our minds. "I'm not here to ask him on a date, as funny as it would be to wind you up." She grinned as Albus spluttered, before turning to face Toby. "I need a Potions tutor."

"Why don't you ask Rosie to tutor you?" James asked, narrowing his eyes at her suspiciously. He was right; like most classes, Rose was easily the top student in our year. And though she hardly interacted with the younger students, I was sure she'd be willing to help one of her cousins if they needed her. That was the thing with the Weasleys – family meant everything.

"I don't want Rose to tutor me, having any family member as a teacher is a bad idea and you know it," Lily said, the whiny tone of her voice reminding me why I hardly spoke to the youngest Potter. "Toby's second in your year for Potions, I asked Slughorn." She turned to face Toby, fluttering her eyelashes at him in a gesture that seemed innocent but to anyone that knew Lily, it definitely wasn't. "So will you tutor me, please?"

"Yeah, course I'll tutor you, Lily," Toby said, flashing her an equally flirty smile. He was lucky that the Potter brothers were too busy scowling at their younger sister to notice. "We can meet in the library at some point next week, I just need a bit of time to read my fourth year notes back." This wasn't going to end well for him. Well, it would because Lily was inevitably going to give into his charms and kiss him, but it would mean the Potter brothers were going to beat him up.

"Thanks, Toby," she said, before nudging Roxy with her shoulder and turning to leave. "There are loads of things I'd love to teach you, baby Potter!" Lucas called after her, shaking his head and laughing when she flipped him off without even turning to face him. If there was one thing Lily Potter knew how to do, it would easily be treating boys mean to make them fancy her even more than they already did.

"If you even dare, I will stick my wand where the sun doesn't shine," Albus snapped, the tone of his voice telling me he was deadly serious.

"Bloody hell, talk about an over-protective big brother."


	8. Chapter 8

**AN: Part deux of Independence Day double update. I'm not even from America and I'm spending the rest of my day at an American themed BBQ. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. Unfortunately.**

* * *

"Toby, I swear I'm going to kill you."

"It's not my fault we _all_ overslept!" my dark-haired friend protested as the five of us ran down the corridor, towards the Potions classroom.

"Is it or is it not your fault that we got no sleep last night?" Ben snapped irritably, wheezing slightly as he pumped his arms. Toby flashed me a sheepish smile and I couldn't help but sigh. Though I was still determined Toby would try it on with Lily at some point this year, that didn't stop him from getting with other girls in the meantime. Less than a month in and he'd already managed to secure one of the hottest Slytherin seventh years last night. And he hadn't even needed cheap spirits and a party to do it.

Unfortunately, he'd been so caught up in Monica Evans and her long blonde hair that he'd forgotten one, vital piece of shared dormitory etiquette. He'd forgotten to cast a Silencio charm.

If it had been any other class we were running to, I might have actually laughed, but not Potions. The others still had no idea that I was already in Professor Slughorn's bad books after scraping an Acceptable in my Potions OWL, and I wasn't really ready to tell them yet. If possible, I'd avoid ever telling them, and anyone else.

"I know I spent all of last year talking about how much I wanted to see what she was like in bed, but I could've done without hearing it all night," Albus said, in an attempt to lighten the mood. As we turned the last corner and could see the door of the Potions classroom, he nudged me with his elbow, a concerned look on his face. "What's up, Scor?"

"What are we gonna say to Slughorn?" I whispered as we stopped just in front of the door. Toby raised his eyebrows, he definitely wasn't used to seeing me this anxious, especially about being late to class, something I'd usually consider to be minor, or funny even. Part of me wanted to tell them about why I was so nervous to be late to Slughorn's lesson, but my pride was stopping me. "I – I just don't want to lose my Prefect badge by pissing off our Head of House."

"Well then it's bloody good that I'm here, isn't it?"

I jumped slightly at the unexpected sound of Rose Weasley's voice, and turned to see her walking towards us, her lips curled into a smug smile. Last year, that smile would have been enough for me to draw my wand and hex her, wiping the smile right off her face and causing a string of expletives to leave her mouth. But this year I was kind of relieved; it just amused me that as innocent as her superiors thought she was, Weasley was a complete potty mouth, a Muggle term which Albus had used to address her several times.

As fierce as her temper was, I knew Weasley, and I knew putting on a front to sweet-talk her superiors was something she was exceptionally gifted at. And now that she didn't hate me, there was a chance that she could use that to get us out of trouble. She gestured for us to follow her with her index finger and fixed an innocent look on her face, before rushing into the classroom.

"Professor, I'm so sorry we're late!" Rose said, panting slightly to make it appear like she'd just run from wherever we'd supposedly been. "Kate and Joe are stuck in the Hospital Wing with Dragon Pox so I offered to help them carry out a few duties. But I didn't realise how behind I was with the plans for the Golden Trio dinner this weekend, so I asked these guys to help me, and we just lost track of time."

I held my breath as Professor Slughorn turned around, bracing myself for his reaction: there was no way he could believe that string of lies. Kate Verbi and Joe Walker were our Head Girl and Boy and whilst Rose helping them out seemed plausible, especially given how hectic planning the year worth of events to commemorate the 25th Anniversary of the Second Wizarding War must be, both of them being stuck in the Hospital Wing with Dragon Pox at such a crucial point in the year, and her enlisting us of all people to help her was not entirely believable.

"I think I overheard Professor McGonagall telling Professor Longbottom about the Dragon Pox this morning," Slughorn said, shaking his head with what appeared to be a sympathetic look on his face. "Awful for them both to have it, I just hope it doesn't reach the rest of us. Take a seat Miss Weasley and friends, and I hope it all goes well this weekend."

He turned to the board once again and as the other boys broke off into pairs and sat down, I found myself gravitating towards the seat next to the redhead who'd just saved my skin. Her big blue eyes were fixed on the board, and as much as I knew she probably wanted to catch up with whatever work we'd missed, I had to thank her. "Cheers Weasley," I whispered, nudging her gently. "You really saved us back there."

To my surprise, she didn't appear confused at how worried I'd been, unlike the other guys, and she simply smiled, turning to look at me. "It's fine Malfoy, don't worry about it. That's what frien – _acquaintances_ do for one another."

Her eyes widened at the same time mine lit up, and I couldn't help but laugh at her little slip up. Though I would like to consider the truce we'd made a sign of potential friendship, I knew Weasley was still determined to close me off. But that slip up showed she considered us kind of friends too. "One day, Weasley, you're gonna let down your guard and admit that we are friends now. And once you become friends with Scorpius Malfoy, you're stuck with me."

She rolled her eyes at me and turned back to face the board, thinking I couldn't see the way the corners of her lips were twitching. "Dream on, Malfoy."

**/**

"Look, they're together again!" Albus spluttered, the jealousy clear on his voice as we watched Tilly and Lysander sit down in one of the silent study areas. A few days ago, I wanted to shake my head and tell him to get a grip when he commented on it, but Tilly and Lysander had practically been joined at the hip since we'd come back for sixth year. I knew they'd always been friends, after all they were in the same House, but surely they must have other friends?

"Just ask Rose or Alice if anything's going on, they're still pretty good mates with Lysander," Frank said, the tone of his voice making it clear that it was the obvious solution. I sometimes forgot that Alice was the closest thing Rose had to a female best friend; they tended to stick to the Gryffindor common room, so I only saw Alice at meals or when she had her tongue down James' throat. I was surprised to hear Alice was still friends with Lysander, seeing as they hadn't been that close last year, when he was actually in our friendship group.

"I can't ask Rose," Albus said, his cheeks tinged pink, and the other boys looked confused. "Rose and Albus have this thing where they refuse to talk about one another's love lives," I explained, my lips curling into a smirk as Albus scowled at me. "He got tired of her complaining to him about guys she's kissed. Alice hadn't kissed a boy yet so she felt bad telling her, and her lack of female friends meant that Albus was naturally the next person she thought to tell."

"I told you that in confidence, you dick," Albus groaned, burying his head in his hands as the others roared with laughter. Fred, James and Louis, the next three closest to Rose, were absolutely hysteric. "Are you that much of a prude, Albus?" Fred laughed, shaking his head in disbelief. "It's not like she was describing her sex life in detail."

"But how long before it would lead to her telling me that kind of stuff?"

"Um, possibly never?"

"Yeah, Al, that was stupid, even for you."  
"What do you mean?"

"Rose is a virgin, you idiot."

My jaw dropped, and I was pleased to see the shock on the other Slytherin boys' faces too. How could Rose be a virgin? Despite her pact with Albus, we'd all heard stories about her going back to boys' rooms and doing the walk of shame in the morning; there's no way those boys would all lie.

"How can she be a virgin?" Ben asked, voicing what the rest of us were clearly thinking. "There's a long list of guys she's supposedly slept with at Hogwarts."

"You don't think we haven't heard them ourselves?" James scoffed, reminding me of his younger cousin. "I'm telling you, Rose is a virgin." "You'd know if you hadn't made that stupid pact with her, Al," Louis added, peering over his shoulder to check nobody else was in hearing range. "I'm not saying she's completely innocent, I mean she did go back to those guys' rooms and fooled around with them. But all the guys were too proud to say that she didn't want to sleep with them."

"So they lied?" I said, surprising myself as I heard the anger in my own voice. Rose was one of the most honest people I knew, and it had always baffled me that she got so flustered when I spoke about sex around her, but it all made sense now. "Why did she let them get away with that?"

The three Gryffindor boys shrugged their shoulders, but there was something about the look in Fred's eyes that told me he knew, he just didn't feel comfortable telling us. "I don't completely understand the inner workings of my darling cousin, Scor," James said reassuringly, in an attempt to calm me down. "But if you do what any best mate would do and ask her about Tilly behind Al's back, why don't you ask Rose yourself?"

"Ask my sister what?"

I flinched at the sound of Hugo Weasley's voice, and looked over my shoulder to see him walking over with Beth Tindall. I could sense my friends sitting up straight, our previous conversation immediately forgotten at the sight of Hugo's best friend. Beth was easily the prettiest girl in fourth year; she might have only been fifteen but few guys could ignore her heart-shaped face, long blonde hair and ridiculously big boobs.

"Nothing, it's fine," I lied, forcing a smile on my face as he stood behind me. I had no idea if he knew what his cousins had been telling me, he and Rose were closer than most siblings after all, but it didn't feel right discussing it for much longer. He shrugged, and I wanted to sigh with relief. Hugo had always been the most relaxed Weasley; Albus had always said it took a lot to faze him, or make him show any sort of emotional response for that matter.

"I'm only here to remind you that we've got Quidditch practice after dinner," he said, looking directly at the Gryffindor boys. "James, Fred, Lou, Frank. Rose says she'll make you lap the field twenty times if you're late, so you'd better be there. Don't take advantage of the fact she's in a weirdly good mood today, I actually like it when my sister isn't angry at the world."

He turned to walk back out of the room, and we all watched as he murmured something, making his leggy blonde companion giggle and blush. Watching Hugo and Beth was almost painful; like Tilly and Lysander, they'd been best friends since first year, probably because she wasn't as girly and gossipy as Roxy and Lily were. But every guy at Hogwarts knew that despite the fact she'd never had a boyfriend, Beth Tindall was strictly off limits and impossible to pull. All because she was hopelessly in love with her naïve, unaware best friend.

"Take a good long took at them, Al," I said, nudging my best friend with my elbow. "Because that's what you look like to the rest of us when you're around Tilly."

"Oh, piss off."


	9. Chapter 9

**AN: Does it bother anyone else when you get a cold in the summer? Because it's bothering me haha - random thought of the day. **

**Open-eyed-dreamer333, the POV is always from Scorpius, unless I explicitly say otherwise! **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter sob. If only. **

* * *

Benjamin Hamilton was not in a good mood.

It had been clear the second he'd walked into Transfiguration and sat next to me. With the exception of James, we were a fairly temperamental group, but Ben was one of the more rational members. Which meant that when he got angry or upset, there was good reason behind it.

"What's wrong?" I whispered to him as McGonagall continued to write on the board. She hadn't even turned around when he'd come in late, which was unusually tolerant for our Headmaster, but I knew she wouldn't be impressed if we decided to talk through her lesson. And I was already in her bad books after the fight on the Quidditch pitch, followed by my week of detentions.

He took a while to answer, and I could tell he was deliberating whether or not he felt comfortable telling me. Though we were a close-knit group, Ben wasn't as open as some of the others were: he didn't describe how girls he'd slept with were in bed, nor did he complain about them in the same way we did.

"It's Lizzie," he murmured, opening his textbook to the page we were on and pulling a piece of parchment and quill from his bag. Elizabeth Hamilton, Ben's little sister, was a Hufflepuff in the year below us. Despite being in different houses, having completely interests and being different ages, the two siblings had managed to stay close, and we all knew how protective he was of her.

"What's happened to her?" I asked, praying to Merlin that it wasn't anything too bad. I could deal with anger, but I always struggled to deal with people crying around me. I wasn't a complete prick, I'm sure I'd try my hardest to listen, I just didn't know how to respond.

"She got dumped by that loser, Macmillan," he snarled, not even bothering to try keep his voice quiet anymore. "And you want to know why? Because he had the nerve to say she wasn't pretty enough." That was harsh, she might not have been as obviously beautiful as some of the other girls at Hogwarts, but she definitely wasn't ugly. "Scor, when I hugged her… I felt awful. She was fully shaking, and though I wanted to strangle Macmillan, I realised there's a high chance I've made a girl feel like that. Like she's not pretty enough. I mean, we openly talk about these girls every single day, I'm sure some of them have overheard us being critical about them. Well, now I've seen the potential outcome, it doesn't feel good."

I couldn't help think what Weasley had said in the kitchens. Sure, Ben wasn't in love with his little sister, but he did love her. And it had taken her being hurt by her ex-boyfriend to make him realise that we'd been just as shallow in the past. "You remember the last Quidditch match?"

"How could I forget? You thought you'd see what it was like to be a Beater, and took a week of anger out on Weasley."

"That… is an interesting way to put it. But yeah, I took my anger out on Weasley. Mainly because she was part of the reason I was so angry."

"What do you mean?"

"We ended up having a conversation in the kitchens a few days before. She said she hated the way we spoke about girls, like they were the latest broom in the market, but also criticising things about them they're probably insecure about," I confessed, watching as a look of realisation crossed his face. I hadn't told the boys why I'd been so angry for the few days that led up to the match, quite frankly because I'd been ashamed to tell them what Rose had told me. "And she said we wouldn't even realise how bad it is until a girl close to us got hurt by another guy, because then we'd be willing to do anything to hurt the guy that made her cry."

"She's bloody right as usual, isn't she?" Ben said, looking thoughtfully at me. I couldn't help but nod in agreement; as much as I hated to admit it, Weasley did have a habit of being right about things, including how badly we treated girls, without realising the implications of that. Ben opened his mouth to say something more, but he was cut off by the sound of hands banging on a desk.

"Mr Malfoy, Mr Hamilton. I don't know what conversation you think is more important than my lesson, but please save it until after. If you don't stop nattering, I'll separate you."

"Yes, Professor McGonagall."

* * *

**/**

"Imagine being with someone at this age and knowing you're gonna marry them one day," Ben said, as we looked over at James and Alice, who were sat on a sofa on the other side of the room. This time last year, I never thought I would see James Potter snuggling a girl on the sofa, let alone proudly calling her his girlfriend and proving it through an unnecessary amount of personal displays of affection.

Not too far from them, Fred and Louis sat, surrounded by pieces of parchment, both looking incredibly stressed out. Like Rose, they worked for Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, but they didn't work in retail like she did. In order to get paid and stay employed (securing them a hefty 40% employee discount), they had to produce two new products every month. An outsider would have assumed that they'd come up with any old rubbish, but I knew that they actually wanted to become inventors for their family business, so they took it surprisingly seriously. Meanwhile, Ben had snuck his little sister out for food to cheer her up. It was strange seeing everyone grow up a bit.

"I couldn't think of anything worse," Lucas said, bringing my focus back into the conversation. He shuddered as James kissed Alice gently, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear and shook his head. "My parents didn't get married until their late twenties, and got divorced soon after."

"What's your point?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at him. Though I wasn't sure if I was ready to meet the person I'd marry one day, my parents had met soon after the Battle of Hogwarts, and though it had taken a while for them to get married, this was the age that people tended to meet the person they were supposed to be with. "Monogamy's for suckers," Lucas scoffed, folding his arms across his chest. "There's a lovely two to one ratio of girls to guys at Hogwarts at the moment, why settle down with one?"

"I don't think I could handle the emotional baggage of a relationship," Toby admitted, nodding his head in agreement. "Give me meaningless sex any day." I watched as he glanced over at the group of seventh year Slytherin girls sat not too far away from us, and he smiled sheepishly as he turned back to us. "Is it completely out of order to sleep with Maddie King a few days after I've slept with her best friend?"

I wasn't sure why I was so disgusted at the fact he'd even consider asking such a question; I'd slept with a girl last year, then asked her and her friend for a threesome the next day. But back then I hadn't been aware of how bad I was treating girls.

"Monica won't mind," Lucas commented, a cruel smile on his face as he looked over at her himself. As usual, his chart and quill were in front of him, and I couldn't help but wonder how he never seemed to feel guilty about what he was doing. "She's like the village bike. Everyone's had a go on her."

I bit my lip at the harsh comment; it was a Muggle metaphor that Fred had taught us last year: it basically meant that she was a slut who slept with loads of guys on a regular basis, and didn't mind who knew it. "Let's invite them for a drink in Hog's Head tonight. Sneak through the portrait," Albus suggested, his eyes shining. Hog's Head was where we always used to go on Friday nights; the alcohol was cheap and ol' Aberforth wouldn't tell McGonagall we'd snuck out of the castle as long as we kept bringing him business in the form of 'easy' girls.

"Yeah, maybe I'll have a go on the village bike," Frank joked, reaching across to fist bump Toby.

Something inside of me snapped, sick and tired of hearing them talk about girls in the same way Rose had said we spoke about them. I stormed out of the Inter-House Common Room, ignoring my friends calling after me. There was only one place I wanted to be right now.

As I walked into the kitchens, Rose was sat on her usual counter, her slim legs crossed as she balanced a book on her knee. She looked up at the sound of my footsteps, her lips curling into a smile, but her face grew concerned as she saw the pissed off look on my own face. "Evie, can you get me and Malfoy some chocolate cake please?" she asked one of the House Elves, smiling as she ran off to get some. "Lots of it."

I pushed myself up so I was sat on the counter next to her, sighing and leaning back against the cold stone wall, my eyelids closing. There was something about these kitchens that made me feel strangely at peace; like it was a safe place I could go to whenever I was upset or angry. "Do you wanna talk?" Rose asked softly, closing her book and placing a small hand on my forearm.

I nodded, opening my eyes and smiling at the concerned look on her face. "Yes. As long as it's not about girls."


	10. Chapter 10

**AN: Got my marks for the year back today and it's put me in a great mood so thought I'd update! Thanks to all the people who have favourited/followed this fanfic! And thanks to Peacock33 for the review, all those questions will be answered soon**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter franchise. Unfortunately. **

* * *

"So, what in Merlin happened last night? I'm gutted me and Fred had to miss it, but a deadline is a deadline," Louis asked, laughing as we began to make our way to Hogsmeade. It was Saturday, and we weren't the only ones making our way to the small village. Though third and fourth years were given allocated weekends when they could go to Hogsmeade, McGonagall had allowed fifth, sixth and seventh years to go every Saturday.

But we were missing certain members of our group; James was making his way to Madam Puddifoot's with Alice, whilst Toby, Lucas and Frank just hadn't come down to the dining hall to meet us.

"Toby ended up coming back with Maddie King," Ben said, scrunching up his face at the memory. I'd come back so late that fortunately, Toby and Maddie had been asleep, but he'd told me all about what had happened. "Once again, he forgot to cast the Silencio charm. Maddie isn't as loud as Monica though, thank Merlin."

"What about Lucas and Frank?"  
"We might actually meet Lucas in town. Toby said he went back with a woman who lived around here, part of a hen party or something."

"Older woman. Impressive for Lucas."  
"He usually goes for the younger, naïve ones."

"Probably because they're the only ones who will fall for the bullshit he comes out with."

"Apparently not."  
"What about Frank?"

"He went back with Monica Evans," Albus said, piping up. I'd completely forgotten he went out last night, probably because I hadn't had to hear about his sexual exploits like I had with the others. "Unlike Toby, who spent the whole night working his charms on Maddie, Frank literally had to buy her a drink and she was snogging him."

"What about you, Al?" Fred said teasingly, punching his cousin's shoulder lightly, and I raised my eyebrows in surprise. Albus hadn't told Ben or me about doing anything out of the ordinary, but judging by the redness of his cheeks, Fred was onto something. "Because I heard from Adam that you had a bit of fun yourself."

"I might have kissed Sam King."

I felt my jaw drop, and Albus scrunched up his nose guiltily at my reaction. Samantha King was Maddie's twin sister, though she was a Gryffindor. But that wasn't what I was surprised at. Albus, Ben and I had all been pretty good since we'd come back for sixth year. Ben had slept with someone the first week back, but hadn't even kissed a girl since, something which Albus and me hadn't done at all. I'd assumed Albus wasn't sleeping with other girls because he'd grown to like Tilly even more over the summer, and I just… well, I wasn't sure why I hadn't slept around. I just hadn't felt the need to.

"Don't look at me like that, Scor," Albus said, running a hand through his hair. Though we hadn't discussed it, I knew our mutual lack of debauchery hadn't gone unnoticed, and my best friend could probably tell that I was a little bit disappointed in him. "Tilly doesn't want me, and Sam was just… there, I don't know."

I couldn't help but sigh as Ben gave me a look of agreement. Albus was easily my best friend out of the group, and although I didn't expect us to always have the same mindset, I wished he hadn't kissed Sam, so I could talk to him about last night.

For the first ten minutes or so I'd sat in a comfortable silence with Rose as we ate chocolate cake, and though I'd silently deliberated whether or not to complain to her about the boys, ultimately I couldn't bring myself to admit to her that she was right about how our group spoke about girls and I'd decided to go for a complete change of topic. It was still so surreal to me how easy it was to talk to her; I'd always known we had similar interests, it was one of the reasons we were rivals, but it was nice to build our friendship or whatever this was on those similarities, as opposed to constantly competing.

"Well, would you look at that," Ben said as we walked into The Three Broomsticks. We all followed his gaze to one of the back booths, and I felt my eyes widen at the sight of my redheaded acquaintance, snuggled up next to Lorcan Scamander, as Tilly and Lysander sat opposite, giggling away at something she'd said. "Since when was Rose seeing Lorcan?"

"Beats me," Albus said, his shoulders slumped in defeat as he looked in their direction; I could tell without looking at him that he was close to tears, despite getting with another girl yesterday night, the girl he truly cared about would always be Tilly.

And surprisingly enough, I could feel my jaw clenching and lips curling into a frown at the sight of the two couples at the back of The Three Broomsticks. I felt my stomach churn for some incomprehensible reason, and my brain immediately filled with thoughts that I couldn't explain.

Weasley could do ten times better than Lorcan. Sure, they're in the same house and they play Quidditch together but apart from that they have hardly anything in common. I bet he doesn't even know that she wants to be an Auror. He's probably into her because he's heard all the rumours about her, but he probably has no idea they're not entirely true. If Weasley wanted to make her bad life choices by dating a Scamander, I wasn't going to stop her. In fact –

"Scor?"

I snapped out of my thoughts as James swung an arm around my shoulder, his lip for some reason curled into a smirk. He nodded over at the table nearest the bar, where the other boys, bar Louis who was buying the first round, were sat. "Come on, mate. Let's get some Butterbeer down you."

* * *

**/**

"Weasley's outdone herself," Toby said, as the applause died down and the Golden Trio took their places at the Professors' table once they'd finished their speech. I couldn't help but nod in agreement as I looked around the Great Hall.

Everyone was dressed up for the Golden Trio dinner; the first event of the year which commemorated the 25th anniversary of the Second Wizarding War. Kate Verbi and Joe Walker were still in the Hospital Wing, so Rose had ended up organising everything. She'd only resorted to only for help from us other Prefects an hour or two ago, when we'd all come back from Hogsmeade and she'd needed to hang giant banners from the ceiling of the hall and set name cards in order to make it a more formal dinner. After a lot of research and help from Professor Flitwick, she'd managed to charm the ceiling so instead of the night sky, it illustrated portraits of those whose lives were lost over the course of the Second Wizarding War.

Everyone in the Great Hall shared the look of admiration I had on my face as our eyes followed the Golden Trio. I'd spent loads of time over at Albus' house over the past five years, yet I couldn't help but stare at his father in awe. Albus and James' father had only been a year older than us when the Second Wizarding War started, and even younger when he faced Voldemort for the first time. He was perfectly nice and understanding when it came to his sons' friendship with me, but I couldn't help but pity the first boy Lily Luna brought home. Because I'd be pretty scared to get on the wrong side of Harry Potter.

"Can I have everybody's attention please?"

Professor McGonagall stood up at her usual place, in the centre of the Professors' table. Her lips curled into a rare smile as she scanned her eyes across the room, before focusing on the Gryffindor table. "As you all know, this is the first of many events to commemorate the events of the Second Wizarding War, twenty five years ago. But I'd like to thank a special little lady for organising this dinner." She nodded over at the Gryffindor table, where I could see her cousins and Alice nudging her, proud looks on all of their faces.

"Once again proving what a dedicated individual she is, Miss Weasley stepped up and despite the short notice, she was more than happy to take over when I informed her that the Head Boy and Girl were in the Hospital Wing with Dragon Pox. And I'm sure you can all agree that she's once again proven that she is as organised, clever and brilliant as her mother was and is. We're all very proud of you, Miss Weasley, and I'm sure this is just a glimpse into what you will achieve next year. So, before dessert is served, I'd like you to all join me in congratulating Miss Weasley on her efforts tonight."

The student body broke out into applause for the second time, and I looked over at the Gryffindor table with a massive grin on my face, hoping I could lock eyes with Rose and tell her well done. As I craned my head to get a proper look at the redhead, I saw her once again surrounded by her friends and family. But to my surprise, as I looked over, I immediately noticed that the smile on her face didn't quite reach her big blue eyes.

I turned to look at Albus next to me, to see if he'd noticed the forced smile on his cousin's face, but he was too busy gawping at the plates of pumpkin pasties and treacle tart that appeared in front of us. Over at the Gryffindor table, James and Fred's eyes had lit up at the sight of their two favourite desserts. Alice and Hugo had already grabbed with their forks, ready to plunge them into the tart, and even Louis and Frank were too busy focusing on the dessert to see Rose excuse herself from the table.

"You can have my servings of dessert," I murmured to Ben, who was sat on the other side of me. Through a mouthful of tart, he said his thanks, and I wiped the crumbs off my face before standing up. I made my way to the Great Hall doors, attracting no attention, as I followed the girl who'd organised this all. I might have spent the past five years competing with her, but I knew Weasley, and I knew a fake smile when I saw one.

I felt an unfamiliar pang in my chest at the sight of her sat at the bottom of the Grand Staircase, looking down at her lap, the corners of her lips curled into a miserable frown. She might have looked the saddest I'd ever seen her but she still managed to look beautiful. Her long red waves framed her heart-shaped face, and I was sure her fitted deep purple dress had turned heads of the entire male population of Hogwarts when she'd walked in earlier. As I took a step towards her, her head snapped up, and I bit my lip as I saw the unshed tears in her eyes.

"Everyone's got a distinguisher."

I blinked in surprise at the statement, continuing to walk over anyway. "A what?" I asked gently, as I sat down next to her. "Something they're known for," she replied, her voice unusually soft. She looked down at her lap and sighed, smoothing a crease in her dress before continuing. "Victoire's always going to be known as the beautiful one. The same way Lily's the baby of the family, and Dom is the musical one."

"So?" I said, feeling my brow crease as I looked at her. She shook her head at the confused look on my face, and I could see her biting the inside of her cheek. A tear slid down her cheek, and she didn't bother to wipe it away. "So, I just want a distinguisher. No matter what I'll do, I'll always get compared to my mother. That's all everyone kept saying to me tonight. _'Well done, Rose. Just as smart and organised as your mother was.'_"

The broken tone of her voice was almost enough to make me start crying; I'd never heard the redhead sat next to me sound so distraught. But then again, I'd never seen this vulnerable side to her. I knew what she was saying, she'd hoped her planning the dinner tonight would have been enough for people to recognise how brilliant she was, but instead they'd compared her to Hermione Weasley. It was a comparison she'd gotten a lot over the years now I thought about it; I could recall several of our professors making it back in first year, when she'd answered a question in class or gotten the highest mark on a test. It just made me sad that she thought that that was all she could be known for.

"Weasley," I said, reaching over to grab her hand. I wasn't sure what had come over me, I never thought I'd be holding hands with Weasley, let alone comforting her when she was upset. But I knew by the way her shoulders relaxed that she also found there was something reassuring about the way my hand dwarfed hers. "There are so many other things that make you who you are."

"Like what?" she snapped bitterly, her blue eyes flashing. "A redhead? That's ninety percent of my family. A Gryffindor? We've had plenty of those over the years. A Quidditch player? Because, I think half of us were shoved onto brooms before we could even _walk_." I flinched at the harshness of her voice and her eyes softened, fresh tears brimming in them. "I just wanted to have something people knew me for. But I'm not anything special."

I shook my head in disbelief at the words that had just left her mouth; for the past five years, I'd considered Rose one of the most self-assured, arrogant people I'd ever met. But I could see now that that confidence was a front, and behind the cover she put up for everyone else, there was an insecure girl who just wanted to stand out in her ridiculously big family. That was the reason she'd always strived to be the best at everything, a trait that I used to find frustrating.

"That's the thing," I said, smiling sadly at her. "You're listing all the things that make you a stereotypical Weasley: red hair, being sorted into Gryffindor and a love of Quidditch. But no matter what you say, there's so much more to you." I leaned over, using my free hand to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear, so I could properly see her eyes. "For one, have you forgotten that you're _the _first Hogwarts student to have ever received full marks in all her practical and theory OWL tests? Because I haven't forgotten it, Merlin, I think about it every single day."

The corners of her lips twitched slightly, and I was determined to do everything I could to cheer her up so I could see her smile. "Weasley, your mum didn't even do every elective because she couldn't handle it. And she might have been worrying about Voldemort and the Death Eaters, but she wasn't the best Chaser Hogwarts has ever had, on top of being Gryffindor Quidditch Captain. And I've heard stories about your mother when she was our age; you might bossy like she was, but she was a a lot more behaved than you were. She only ever got in detention because she was accompanying your uncle and dad on some quest. I'm sure she's never got a detention because she landed some blonde idiot in the Hospital Wing after a particularly lethal Bat-Bogey Hex."

"You deserved it," she giggled, and I felt my stomach flip as her eyes sparkled at me. "Shouldn't have gone through my bag and tried to find my History of Magic notes because you fell asleep _once again_." "Can you blame me?" I asked, feigning innocence. "I was hungover after the Slytherin victory party and Professor Binns was droning on about the Giant Wars again."

She laughed at my response, her lips curling into the smile I'd been waiting for. "And for the record, Rose," I added, using my thumb to wipe away a tear on her cheek. "You might see yourself as being just a Weasley, or a younger version of your mother, but I know I'm not the only one who sees you as a lot more than just that."

Before I could comprehend what was happening, her arms were around my neck as she hugged me. I felt myself freeze in shock at first, before relaxing and wrapping my arms around her slim body. "Thank you, Scorpius," she murmured into my shoulder. "You're a really good… friend."

I pulled away from her, one arm still around her shoulder. I was fully aware of the massive grin on my face and how dopey I must have looked, but for once I really couldn't have cared less. "You just called me your friend!" I declared triumphantly. She rolled her eyes at me but laughed, nodding her head. "Yeah I did," she said, sounding slightly embarrassed. She grabbed the hand of the arm that was currently around her, intertwining our fingers, and leaning against my shoulder comfortably. "Guess you're kinda stuck with me."

I couldn't help but chuckle at her mimicking what I'd said to her in the Potions classroom a few days ago. I squeezed her hand gently, smiling down at her as she turned her head to look up at me. "I'll survive."


	11. Chapter 11

**AN: A 3 month summer when all you're doing is working and babysitting is not ideal. But thanks for all of you following this story, as long as I'm getting emails saying people are favouriting/following/reviewing, I'll continue to write it. This chapter starts off in Toby's POV then goes right ol' back to Scorpius.**

**Disclaimer: JK Rowling owns Harry Potter and though I like to pretend I'm not, I am in fact what can be classified as a Muggle**

* * *

(Toby POV)

"Fuck, I'm so sorry," I panted, wiping my sweaty brow with the back of my hand as I looked down at Lily Luna Potter, sat at the library table where we'd arranged to meet. We'd just had a particularly intense Quidditch practice; it was the last year Albus would be playing Quidditch against his older brother, and I knew he had his eyes on the cup even more than he had in previous years.

The Gryffindor team had consisted of his family and family friends since our second year, and apart from third year, the one year Slytherin had won, they'd won every Quidditch Cup. People who didn't take Quidditch seriously, like Lysander Scamander, had joked that it wasn't ever a competition for the cup, it was a competition for second place. And whilst I didn't really mind, Albus did.

"Wow," Lily said, setting her pen down on the table. Her eyes ran over my body, and I tried to ignore how attractive she looked as she raised her eyebrows at me. "Panting and sweating? Did you run all the way here because you were that keen to see me, Toby?"

Naturally, the rules of bro code say it's wrong for a guy to do anything with his friend's sister, especially if the friend is as protective as Albus. But I couldn't ignore the suggestive tone of little Lily Luna's voice.

"Um," I said, blinking hard and trying my hardest to fight the inappropriate thoughts I was having out of my head. "A-Actually, your brother's a bit of a tyrant when it comes to practice. Scor's punishment for showing up two minutes late, because he wanted to grab some breakfast before, was to lap the field twenty times, and I got the Quaffle launched at my head because I wasn't on target with enough of my Bludger hits. And I didn't want to seem rude because I'm late, but I really needed a shower because I didn't want to show up stinking post-practice –"

"Classic uptight Al," she giggled, cutting me off. "He tried to be like that with Hugo and Rose when we were kids. Hugo always listened and did what he said but Rose wasn't having any of it, even at that age." I forced a laugh, cringing inwardly as I heard how nervous it sounded, but I pulled out the chair next to her and sat down anyway. Thank Merlin she'd stopped me from talking, I was babbling like an idiot and I had no idea why.

Actually that was a lie.

I'd known Lily since she was nine years old, since the summer of First Year, but she'd always been Albus' little sister to me, no matter how attractive Lucas and the non-Weasley/Potters in our group had said she was in recent years. But it wasn't until she boldly approached me in the Inter-Floor Common Room and asked me to be her tutor that I'd actually noticed myself.

Had her hair always looked that soft and red? It wasn't a scarlet red like Rose's hair, or a light strawberry blonde like Dominique, Molly and Lucy's. It looked like a copper silk curtain, falling just past her shoulders. Had her cute button nose always been covered in that many freckles, or was it just because she'd been lounging out in the sun all summer? Had her lips always been that pink, or –

"Toby?"

I'd been so busy examining the youngest Potter that I'd failed to notice she was staring right back at me. Merlin, had her brown eyes always been that pretty? "Sorry, Lily," I said, ignoring the teasing tone of her voice. She definitely knew I'd been checking her out. "Must still be tired from Quidditch practice. Anyway, let's start that Poison Antidote essay of yours."

Al was gonna kill me.

**/ /**

(Back to Scorpius POV)

"Malf – I mean, Scorpius!"

I laughed at the sound of Rose calling my name. Though it had been a week since I'd comforted her on the Grand Staircase, she was still coming to terms with being friends with me. But to everyone's amusement, it wasn't the actual being friends part that she was struggling with, it was what to call me. I suppose, after five years of addressing me with either insults or my last name, you couldn't blame her. I slipped up sometimes too, though a lot of the time, I was pleasantly surprised by how easily her first name rolled off my tongue.

She walked over to our group's usual seating area, followed by Lysander Scamander. It was weird to think that until this year him and his twin brother been in our friendship group too; since the first of term, it had seemed like he was avoiding us like a bad case of the Dragon Pox.

"Pleasure to see you as always, Weas – I mean _Rose_," I said teasingly, smiling up at her as I mocked her mistake. She punched my shoulder lightly, and I pretended to be seriously hurt as she sat down on the arm of my armchair. "You're an idiot," she laughed, shaking her head at me. I could see the other guys exchanging baffled looks; they hadn't come to terms with us being friends yet either. "Anyway, do you want to work on that Herbology essay later? I know it's not that long, but I can't bring myself to start it."

"The one that's not due until next week?!" Lucas exclaimed in shock, and as Rose and I both raised our eyebrows at him, he rolled his eyes and said. "Oh yeah, it's you two." "Sounds good," I said, turning back to face Rose, who smiled back at me.

"Lysander, won't your girlfriend be jealous of you spending time with another girl?" Albus asked, the bitterness clear in his voice as he addressed the blonde boy stood behind Rose. I resisted the urge to groan at his obvious jealousy; since we'd seen them in The Three Broomsticks with Lorcan and Rose, Albus had been in a foul mood whenever he saw the blonde Ravenclaw boy.

Rose turned slightly, and I watched as her and Lysander exchanged a look, her lips curling into a slight smirk. I knew after spending a week hanging out with her that her and Lorcan were definitely just friends, but why did she look like she found Albus' question funny? "Who do you think is his girlfriend, Al?" Rose asked, evidently amused as she stared over at her cousin. Albus' cheeks burned at the question, and I knew he was a mix of embarrassed and angry, and was most likely not going to answer. So I answered on his behalf. "Tilly Carmichael."

Rose and Lysander exchanged another look, before both of them burst out into peals of laughter, Rose laughing so hard that tears were shining in her blue eyes. I looked at the other boys to see if they were as bewildered as I was at the reaction, and saw that they all looked just as confused as I felt. "What's so funny?" Albus demanded, folding his arms across his chest defensively. He tried to make his voice calm, but you'd have to be an idiot to miss the anger in it, and on cue, Rose and Lysander stopped laughing.

"Firstly, Al," Lysander said. "Even if we don't hang out as much as we used to when we were younger, I wouldn't ever do that to you because I know how strongly you feel about her. Tilly just has and always will be my best friend, except for Lorcan obviously." Albus' face relaxed slightly, and I knew he secretly wanted to jump up and down and celebrate, but he was still looking over at Lorcan, who was shifting awkwardly, like he still had something to say. "And secondly… I'm gay."

I felt my jaw drop in surprise, and I didn't have to look around the group to know they would be reacting in a similar way. It wasn't that Lysander had ever been a massive player, like his brother had once been, but he'd hung out with us for the past five years. A group in which one of the primary topics of discussion just so happened to be girls. "I bet you feel stupid now, Al," Rose snorted, narrowing her eyes at her cousin, who seemed lost for words.

"Don't be too harsh on him, Rose, he didn't know," Lysander said softly, and it was only then I remembered what a calming influence he'd always been on her. Something I'd always liked about Lysander was how rational and levelheaded he was, and I don't think I'd ever seen him hold a grudge. "As I said, Tilly is one of my best friends, she has been since we were both scared first years sorted into Ravenclaw. I've just depended on her a lot more since I came out, she's been really supportive about all of this.

He paused, running a hand through his blonde hair and sighing heavily. "That's why I stopped hanging out with you guys," he confessed, and my face fell at the revelation. I knew exactly what he was going to say, the same thing I'd been over-thinking for a while now. "It wasn't because I didn't enjoy spending time with you, I really did, you're all great friends. All the girl talk just made me feel uncomfortable sometimes, Lorcan said I just needed a breather."

"_Anyway_," Rose said, breaking the silence that had fallen. "I need to get those books from the library. Come on, Sander." She smiled at me briefly before slipping off the armchair and nudging the blonde Ravenclaw. I could tell by the look on her face that she was proud of him for telling us what he'd probably wanted to for ages. They both turned to leave, but Lysander paused, turning around to face Albus. "If I were you, I'd throw caution to the wind and just kiss her. Tilly, I mean. She's such a girly girl, she loves big gestures like that."

"What a nice guy," Ben murmured once they were out of earshot. Albus was the first to nod as a sign of his agreement, guilt written all over his face.

I knew the feeling.

**/ /**

"I saw you."

I raised an eyebrow as Rose sat next to me in one of the study areas of the Inter-Floor Common Room later that day. I could see the other boys sat in our usual area, minus the seventh years, who were in the Gryffindor Common Room, studying for an important Defence Against the Dark Arts test the next day.

She rolled her eyes at my confusion and sighed. "Don't even try and pretend you didn't feel guilty after Lysander said it was all the girl talk that made him uncomfortable." She paused as my lips curled into a frown once again, and she nudged me gently, a sad smile on her face. "I'm not having a go at you. I saw the look on your face when he said it."

"Honestly?" I said, setting my pen down so I could turn to face her properly. I sighed heavily as I got what I'd wanted to say for weeks now off my chest. "I felt awful. I felt awful that we'd made Lysander feel uncomfortable with all the talk about girls, and even worse that Lorcan thought it was for the best that they stopped hanging out with us because of it. I'm just growing tired of it all."

"Growing tired of what?" Rose asked softly, knowing she'd touched a sensitive topic. Part of me considered keeping it bottled up for longer, but I knew I could trust her. "My friends," I sighed, shrugging my shoulders as she blinked at me in surprise. "Not like that, they're still my best friends, but I don't know, sometimes, I get tired of them. And it's not just me, we all seem to be on different pages a lot of the time, like we've grown apart. All Lucas, Frank and Toby care about is sleeping around. Al will go out with them with the same intentions despite the fact he's caught up with Tilly, but is just too shy to make a move."

She nodded understandingly, and something about the simple gesture encouraged me to continue. "Then there are the other guys, who all seem to have grown up. James is obsessed with Alice, like we all reckon he's gonna ask her to marry him before he graduates." Rose smiled fondly at the mention of her cousin; it was a known fact that James had changed considerably in the short time he'd been going out with Alice, and it had definitely been in a good way. "And Louis and Fred are busy thinking about their careers in Weasley's Wizard Wheezes after they graduate. Last week, they didn't go out with the others because they had an inventing deadline to make, and I know they've been working on loads more since."

"What about Ben?" Rose asked, nodding over in the direction of the friend I hadn't mentioned. He was slumped in an armchair, looking bored at whatever the others were discussing, and I guessed it was probably another girl rating session. "He's one of the only ones I can talk to nowadays," I admitted. "But neither of us are gonna confront the other guys about how rubbish they can be towards girls. I don't know, sometimes I can't help but think how much easier it was when I didn't feel guilty about it."

"You don't have to confront them you know," Rose said, her blue eyes looking strangely serious. "And I know you feel like it was easier when you didn't feel guilty, but you don't mean that. You just want to stop feeling guilty." I exhaled heavily as I realised how right she was. As usual. "It's stupid how it's possible to feel so alone sometimes, like there's no one to talk to, in a castle full of so many people."

I cringed inwardly at the way my voice cracked mid-sentence, and blinked hard in an attempt to get rid of the unshed tears in my eyes, but I knew by the way her pink lips had parted in shock that Rose had already seen them. She stretched her arm out, and grabbed my hand, squeezing it gently. "Hey, you aren't alone," she said sincerely, her blue eyes shining at me as a sad smile graced her lips. "You've got me."


	12. Chapter 12

**AN: Firstly, I want to say a big thank you. I've had the worst few days (due to work and personal circumstances) but when I checked my emails and saw that the last chapter got me loads of new followers and so many long, lovely, positive reviews, I had to update straight away. So thank you all so much for cheering me up, and here's a new part for you all **

**Review whether or not you want me to update once or twice a week - some people might like the suspense, but if possible I can definitely squeeze out two chapters a week. Peace and love xo**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. But if I ever have three wishes from a genie, I might wish to. **

* * *

"So, guess what I saw this morning?" Fred said as we made our way towards the Inter-House Common Room. We'd both been for a spontaneous fly on our brooms after dinner, but still had an hour or so before I had to do my Prefect rounds. I raised an eyebrow at him as I saw the smirk on his face, and he took the simple gesture as permission to continue. "Lily and Toby sat at the Gryffindor table. No textbooks present."

"Merlin," I chuckled, shaking my head in disbelief. Toby had only started tutoring Lily recently, and I could already tell that he fancied the pants off her. Luckily, Albus and James hadn't picked up on how keen he seemed to go meet her in the library, but it was only a matter of time before they found out. Especially if they were seen conversing so publically, sans the excuse of him tutoring her. "D'you think he'd ever make a move on her?"

"Realistically?" Fred said. "Not a chance. Toby's a mate and if it was any other girl, he'd have kissed her by now. The only reason he's resisting is because Lil is Al and James' precious baby sister, and he knows that doing anything with her could end their friendship completely. To be fair, I completely understand. Guys don't get with their friends' relatives, it's like bro code."

"Oh?" I replied, trying to sound nonchalant despite the indescribable disappointment I suddenly felt. "But what about James and Alice? I mean, Frank was pretty cool with it." "Yeah, I guess," Fred said thoughtfully, pausing for a minute to think it over. "But it was always different with those two. I mean, Frank caught onto the fact that James fancied his sister before James did himself. And between you and me, I think he let him off easy."

"Let him off easy?" I asked, and Fred nodded, a grim look on his face. "Yeah. Like, if any of you guys got with one of our sisters, or even one of our cousins… it wouldn't end well."

"Really?"

"Have you not seen how protective we are over the girls?" Fred said, looking more serious than I'd ever seen him. "When Macmillan broke Dom's heart last year, we landed him in the Hospital Wing. When we were kids, we'd hate any boy Vic brought home, mainly because we didn't approve of any guy other than Teddy, but that's beside the point. Molly's been dating her current boyfriend for about seven months now and still hasn't brought him to a Weasley family gathering because she's scared we'll scare him off. Lucy doesn't even bother informing us about her love life, probably for the same reason."

"Honeydukes sale!"

I was thankful for the squeaky voice that drowned out the sound of my nervous laughter, and I sighed in relief as Fred made his way over to the table of sweets outside the entrance to the Inter-House Common Room. I don't know why I cared so much about how protective the Weasley and Potter boys were over their cousins. It must have just been hearing Fred sound so serious that shocked me. Yeah, that must have been it.

"What's this for?" I asked the first years running the stand, once my mind was at rest. Fred clearly didn't care, and was counting out change, no doubt to buy a bar of Honeydukes chocolate, his ultimate craving. "We're selling sweets and chocolate to r-raise money for the children's ward in St Mungo's," the tallest of them stammered nervously, and I couldn't help but smile fondly. Merlin, I remembered being terrified of older students, and now I was one of them. "My little sister's been admitted and we just wanted to say t-thank you to all of the people who work there."

I nodded, sticking my hand in my trousers' pocket and hoping I had some change in there. Though I wouldn't ever admit it to anyone, I was a sucker for little kids. Though I wasn't all that close to my Aunt Daphne's kids, because I hardly saw them, Mum had always told me how I'd acted as a leader when we were playing together as children. And my heart always melted a bit when I was around Victoire and Teddy's twins, Scarlett and Noah.

"Sorry it's all I have," I said, placing three Galleons on the table with an apologetic smile on my face. The three first years beamed at me all the same, clearly touched I was donating all together. "Thank you, sir!" the blonde girl with large emerald eyes said softly, and I shrugged, smiling back at them.

"AH, FOUND IT!" Fred said triumphantly, as he pulled a final sickle from his pocket. A massive grin was plastered on his face as he held the coins out to the first year who hadn't spoken yet. He reached forward to pick up the last bar of chocolate on the table, but another, smaller hand reached out and grabbed it before he could.

We both turned to look at the person holding the bar of chocolate Fred had been so excited for: we hadn't even heard her arrive, nor noticed her place a handful of coins on the edge of the table, but there she was. A slim, brunette girl stood in front of us, a fierce look in her green eyes.

"Come on now," Fred said calmly, trying to reason with her. He held his hands out defensively, forcing a laugh in an attempt to lighten the mood. "I've already paid for it, even if it took me ages to count out my loose change." The girl raised an eyebrow, looking more irritated than angry. "Have you never heard of first come, first served?"

"I got here first!" Fred protested, childishly folding his arms across his chest. The girl rolled her eyes at the gesture. "If you want to play that card, Weasley, I put my money down on the table first. Therefore I paid for it first, therefore this chocolate bar is mine."

"That's not fair!" Fred yelled, stamping his foot and glaring at the unknown girl, and I bit my lip so I wouldn't laugh at the action. If it had been any of the other boys with Fred, they would have been in peals of laughter, probably doubled over at the hilarity of it. "Who are you anyway? I'm sure I would've noticed a girl as brash and bossy as you."

I ducked my head at the harsh statement, though I had been thinking exactly the same thing. It was strange that neither of us could recognise her, especially because she looked like she was around out age. It wasn't even like this girl was unattractive or meek; if her face wasn't curled up in disgust, I'm sure she would be quite cute, and her fieriness reminded me of a young Rose Weasley. But as I looked back up, I saw her eyes flashing furiously. "I have a name. Celestia Nott," she snapped. "I'm in half of your NEWT classes and have been in most of your classes since First Year. Two things which you'd probably know if you and your friends actually paid attention to something other than yourself."

She pulled open the wrapper of the chocolate bar before storming off, and leaving Fred and I both staring at her in shock.

* * *

**/ /**

"So you thought stamping your foot was a good idea?"

"Merlin, you're an idiot."

"And a child."

"Why couldn't we all have been there?"

"How do you not know who she is?" Rose said, tears of laughter still shining in her blue eyes. It had been half an hour since Celestia Nott had made Fred look like an absolute idiot, and as we'd been retelling the tale to the others, Rose and Alice had joined us at our usual place in the Inter-House Common Room. "Godric, Fred. And you're no better, Scor. One of her brothers is the other Beater for Slytherin, and I'm sure he wasn't the first Nott brother on the team either."

Of course I knew Edward Nott, a burly fifth year whose arms were the size of my head, and I could kind of recall a Jordan Nott, who was equally muscular and had been the Slytherin Quidditch Captain when Albus, Toby and I had joined the team. I just hadn't known they'd had a sister, let alone one who was still at Hogwarts.

"H-How many brothers does she have?" Fred asked timidly, and I could tell by the look on his face that he regretted how harsh he'd been to her, and I hoped for his sake that she wasn't the type of girl to call on her brothers whenever someone mistreated her. "Four older brothers, and one younger one," Alice snickered, her eyes shining as Fred groaned, burying his head in his hands.

"You'd better hope they're not the over-protective type," I chuckled, and James nodded his head in agreement, still doubled over with laughter. "It sounds like she can handle herself though, don't you think?" Albus said, his lips curled into an amused smirk as he nudged his cousin. "Hey, Rosie, maybe you'd be good friends with her. Both surrounded by boys but tough as old boots –"

"She scares me more than Rose does!" Fred yelped, cutting Albus off and Rose snorted, angrily folding her arms across her chest as her lips curled into a pout. "I could definitely take her." "Of course you could," I said mock-patronisingly, chuckling and pulling her into a hug as she jokingly scowled at me.

"Rose! Can you quickly read over our Potions essays?"

Her head turned as she heard her name being called, and I saw Lysander sticking his head out of one of the silent study areas, an apologetic smile on his face. Tilly was sat at their usual table, and Rose stood up, brushing herself off before excusing herself and going off to help the two Ravenclaws.

"There's something ironic about Rose helping two Ravenclaws with their essays," Ben stated, nodding over at the three, who were huddled over the scrolls of parchment. "I seriously don't get how she wasn't sorted into there, the girl is a walking brain."

"The Sorting Hat probably considered it, but I bet she asked to be put in Gryffindor," Fred said, looking over at his petite cousin. His lips curled into a grin and he nudged Louis. "Imagine Uncle Ron's reaction if his golden girl had been sorted into Ravenclaw." "Probably the same reaction if his little Rosie married a Slytherin," Louis said, laughing at the thought. I forced myself to chuckle as the others laughed, praying no one noticed the way I was clenching my jaw.

"_Anyway_, enough about Weasley. I was thinking we could sneak out to Hog's Head tomorrow," Lucas suggested, thankfully changing the subject. "Might as well make the most of it not being so busy at the moment."

"You say that like we never go to Hog's Head," Frank said, smiling wryly. He was right; last year we'd been to Hog's Head at least once a week, so much so that Aberforth knew each of our favourite drinks, and would go about preparing them the second we set foot in the place. "But I'm up for that."

The other boys nodded in agreement, and I found myself mimicking the gesture out of force of habit, wondering if I'd ever have an excuse to opt out of going to the grimy pub. "Sorry, I've got plans," Ben said casually, and everyone turned to face him, surprised looks on all of our faces.

"What plans do you have?"

"Erm, I've got a trial shift at The Three Broomsticks," Ben confessed, sounding slightly nervous as he answered my question.

"Ben!"  
"That's amazing!"

"As if you've managed to score a potential job there!"

"Why didn't you tell us?"

"I didn't want to say anything in case I didn't get it," Ben admitted. "To be honest, I still haven't one hundred percent got it." "You definitely will," Alice said supportively, beaming over at him. I could see James smiling at her kind words fondly, and part of me couldn't help but envy the relationship they had. I couldn't imagine someone ever looking at me like that. "What made you realise you wanted a job?"

"James and Alice, you two are always together," Ben sighed, running a hand through his dark hair. "Albus, you're busy obsessing over Tilly; Louis, Fred and Frank, you guys are all starting to think about what you wanna do after Hogwarts. Toby, you're tutoring Lily now and Lucas… well, you're still sleeping around." He cracked a smile as I laughed, before turning to me, a slightly sad look on his face. "Even you're always busy nowadays, Scor!"

"I am not!" I protested, slightly hurt that one of my friends felt I was too busy to hang out with him. I'd never been that close to my family, so whilst family had always meant everything to the Weasleys and Potters, my friends had always been the most important people in my life. So I was surprised to see Ben shaking his head at me, before stating, "You're always with Weasley."

"That's not true!" I insisted, feeling my cheeks heat up as the others exchanged looks. Did I really spend that much time with Rose? Sure, we studied together, and had started hanging out in our free time too, but no more than I hung out with the boys. Well, at least I didn't think so. "We're just friends."

"Scor, are you blushing?"

"Merlin, I didn't know Malfoys could go pink."

"You're in denial, mate."

"Agreed, you're definitely more than friends."

"Has anyone else noticed the way they sometimes finish one another's sentences?" Albus said, the teasing tone clear in his voice. I'd given him so much shit about how soppy he could be around Tilly, I couldn't really be surprised. I mean, not that Rose and me were anything like the two of them. "And the way that they smile at each other all the time, and have their little in-jokes?"

"Mum and Dad will be so happy," James said, his brown eyes sparkling as he grinned at his brother. Of course the two Potter brothers would be the ones to tease me most, Al was my best friend and James had always laughed at my previous tumultuous relationship with his redheaded cousin, joking that it was pent-up sexual frustration. "Dad's always said how much he wants you to be part of the family."

"Shut up," I groaned, burying my head in my hands as the rest of them roared with laughter. Yet, despite my embarrassment, and the fact that they were obviously joking, I couldn't help but wonder whether or not they were right. Albus was right to a degree, we did have a habit of finishing one another's sentences, but I always passed that off as being because we were so similar and found ourselves on the same wavelength a lot of the time. I did find myself smiling more when she was around, and we had private jokes that no one else seemed to laugh at, but because she'd slowly become a good friend, I'd excused it. And though I'd tried to ignore them, the weird tingly feeling in my stomach I tended to get around her were getting harder to overlook.

"So, what have I missed?"

My head snapped up at the sound of the pretty redhead's voice, and I widened my eyes at the boys, praying none of them would divulge what we were saying. I might not have been certain I had feelings for Rose, but I certainly didn't want her to reject me before I was even sure. "Ben's got a trial shift at The Three Broomsticks," Toby said, forcing what I assumed was meant to be a casual smile. "We were just talking about heading down there to see him at work when he's definitely secured a job."

Rose smiled back at him and nodded, sitting next to me as she had been before she'd left. Conversation broke out once again, and the others began discussing the latest Puddlemere United game (I was more of a Cannons fan myself), but I as I looked down at the girl next to me, I saw a troubled look on her face.

"What's up?" I asked softly, putting my arm around her waist and pulling her closer to me. You know, just so we could talk kind of privately. Yeah, that's all. She raised an eyebrow at me, before sighing and pouting. "So, when are you actually planning on telling me what you guys were talking about?"

I tried my hardest to make my shock as subtle as possible, but I couldn't help but be impressed by how well she seemed to know me. Toby hadn't even been that obvious; in fact, we had been talking about Ben's trial shift at The Three Broomsticks before we'd moved onto the topic of my potential feelings for her. Was I that easy to read? "Yes, you're that easy to read," she said, reading my mind and smirking as my jaw dropped.

They say that there's always that one pivotal moment when you realise you might just have feelings for someone who you've known for a long time. Occasionally it's a relief, but in other cases it's a complete shock to your system, or it's painful, because you know you don't have a chance with them. I felt like my bombshell of a realisation was a combination of the two latter.

"It's nothing," I lied, hoping she wouldn't be hurt by the fact I couldn't tell her what was on my mind at the moment. I knew Rose wouldn't judge me, nor treat me any different to how she was treating me now, but I knew I wouldn't be able to deal with the rejection. "I'm fine."

"You're an awful liar you know," she chimed, shaking her head at me. She scanned the circle of people to see whether or not anyone was looking at us, and when she saw they were otherwise distracted, she placed a small hand on my forearm, squeezing it gently as she looked up at me with her big blue eyes. "If you change your mind, you know I'm always here if you want to talk."

I nodded, gently squeezing her hand before letting go and lying back on the sofa. Merlin, whoever came up with the saying _ignorance is bliss_ was right.


	13. Chapter 13

**AN: Longer Author's Note, but looks like I'm going to uploading twice a week! Days may vary because of when I'm working but I solemnly swear to try my hardest to get two chapters out every single week. **

**Once again, thank you for all the reviews. Means so much that you take the effort to write me a review, especially you regular reviewers - you know who you are! And thank you to everyone that's said they don't want to put too much pressure on me to write two a week/have said they hope I'm okay now! **

**Some of you are very good at asking the right questions. They'll all be answered soon, I promise haha. And now on with the story! **

**Disclaimer: Harry Potter is not my creation. As much as I would love to claim credit for my favourite series, all literary genius belongs to JK Rowling**

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"Heads up, Scor."

I looked up at Albus' warning, seeing a flurry of owls flying over my head, gripping letters and parcels with their talons. Amongst them, I could see Apollo, one of my parents' OWLs, flying above us, and as I spotted him, he dropped the letter and I held my hands out to catch it. "Chaser reflexes," Toby commented, grinning and nudging me in the side as I caught it.

I smiled at him, before looking down at the letter in my hands apprehensively. Though I usually wasn't nervous when receiving a letter from home, but my parents very rarely bothered to seal letters they sent me with the family seal. It was only once I flipped the envelope over that I recognised the angular penmanship of one Lucius Malfoy.

_Scorpius,_

_I know it is not often I write to you as I find written correspondence to be a nuisance, however I thought I should inform you that upon our arrival back to the Manor earlier this evening, your grandmother and I came across a letter addressed to your parents from Horace Slughorn. _

_In this letter, your Potions professor divulged that he was concerned regarding your unwavering average performance in his subject. Additionally, he said that he had hoped that your grades would improve, especially considering your exemption from the customary entry requirements to study Potions at NEWT level. _

_I was not aware that you had received any grade below an Exceeds Expectations last year, and am writing to express my outermost disappointment at this inattentiveness. _

_I have also decided to write to you in an attempt to make you see sense and find an alternative career choice. I know you've made the unwise decision to associate yourself with several members of the Weasley/Potter blood traitors, however this does not mean you have to lower yourself and settle for a ridiculous occupation that involves voluntarily assisting others. _

_A Malfoy as a Healer is practically unheard of, and I recommend that you consider a career in the Ministry, like your father and I. _

_Lucius Malfoy_

My blood boiled in rage, my hands shaking as I clutched the letter in my hands. To say I was furious was an extreme understatement; firstly the fact my grandfather had the nerve to go through snooping mail addressed to my parents just showed how controlling and intrusive he could be. My father was forty three, and whilst it was customary amongst Purebloods to live with your parents, even after marriage, going through his belongings was completely out of line.

I wished Professor Slughorn had enough backbone to tell me this himself, instead of going straight to my parents. I had been putting more effort into Potions, but because the workload and in-depth studying had understandably increased, I was still struggling to make the jump from OWL to NEWT level. But as I looked over at the Professors' table, I couldn't really blame him. Slughorn wasn't vindictive or spiteful, he just hated confrontation, and I knew the old man probably just felt bad putting me down.

No, the person I was well and truly angry with was my grandfather.

For years he'd condemned the Healer career, asking why an individual should spend their days trying to save others, with very little chance of career development. Statistically, since the Second Wizarding War, the chances of earning yourself a promotion in the Healer profession, before the age of twenty five, was extremely slim, which probably meant I wouldn't be able to have my own house for quite some time. But I didn't want to work in the Ministry to ensure my social and financial progression.

I genuinely wanted to be a Healer, and had done since I'd first visited St Mungo's in first year. A crying Albus had woken me up in the middle of the night, just a bit before Christmas, asking me to accompany him after Professor Longbottom had informed him that his father had been admitted after a job had gone wrong: they'd caught the guy, but not before he'd managed to use some dark magic. At first I'd felt out of place, stood awkwardly between Albus and James, who I hardly knew back then, as Ginny comforted a hysterical nine-year-old Lily Luna.

It had been awful seeing them all falling apart, whilst Harry lay unconscious, but seeing the relief on their faces as he stirred and slowly came about was a real turning point for me. I wanted to help evoke that reaction out of people by curing and caring for their loved ones, and I really wanted to help make a difference. My parents had always been supportive, telling me I had the freedom to do whatever I desired, but clearly my grandfather didn't agree.

And I hated the dig he made at the Weasleys and Potters, especially considering several members of the family had been there for me more than he ever had, or ever would.

I couldn't help but be jealous as I looked up from the letter and saw the other boys opening their mail. Albus was digging into some cookies, which I guessed had just been sent by his Nana Molly, Ben was proudly holding up some sort of Muggle sport shirt, Toby was reading a letter from his Dad and even Lucas had gotten a box of Muggle sweets from his parents. Though I didn't have a troubled relationship with my parents at all, my family would never think to send me care packages of things I loved from home. In fact, the only written correspondence was to keep up with one another's lives, and I was certain I hadn't received a single letter, excluding the spiteful one in my hand, since the year had started.

I scrunched up the piece of parchment in my hand, pushing myself up off the table and storming out of the dining hall, ignoring the boys calling after me. I hadn't even finished eating my dinner, but I really was not in the mood to sit there whilst everyone fawned over their presents from home. As I made my way to the Black Lake, I couldn't help but wonder why I cared so much. I'd never been a massive family guy; I loved my parents and my maternal grandmother, but the Malfoy and Greengrass family weren't exactly sentimental or thoughtful.

I sat down at my favourite spot, under the giant tree by the lake and sighed heavily, closing my eyes and leaning back against its trunk. Normally, it didn't bother me; I'd spent entire summers with the Weasley and Potter family, and couldn't think of a moment where I'd completely envied the familial dynamics. But maybe that was because I'd long ago become accepted as one of the many family friends, to the point where during the summer of third year, when I'd been stuck in bed with Dragon pox, their Nana Molly had asked me if Albus and me had fallen out, and if that were the case to stop being such a child and owl me straight away.

A part of it was also the differing levels of support amongst the families of us Slytherin boys, regarding our career choices. Albus had his heart set on playing professional Quidditch, and despite worrying his father would be disappointed when he broke the news to him, Harry had surprised him by vowing to buy a box for the very first game he played. Lucas and Toby had no idea what they wanted to be when they were older, and their parents had done nothing but help them try to figure out what they wanted to do with their lives. Ben and his sister were Muggleborns, so his parents had shown the most support of all, even moving closer to London when Ben got his Hogwarts letter, so he wouldn't be too far away from the wizarding world.

Was a family like all of theirs too much to ask for?

"Thought I'd find you out here."

I didn't have to open my eyes to distinguish Rose's voice, and it was only once I felt her sit down next to me that I lifted my eyelids. "Albus wanted to come," she said softly, her lips curled into a sad smile. I looked into her blue eyes and expected to see pity, and was thankful when I didn't. "But I said I would go, you know, returning the favour and all that."

I felt my face fall at her words, and her eyes widened as she realised the implication of her words, that she'd only come out as payment for when I'd comforted her after the Golden Trio dinner, and she placed a small hand on my forearm. "Merlin, no I didn't mean it like that, Scor. I mean, we're friends. I don't feel like I have to be here, I wanted to come out here. And whatever you want to do: cry, yell, vent, I'm here for you."

I smiled sadly, transferring the scrunched up piece of parchment from my fisted palm onto hers. She raised her eyebrows curiously, trying her best to straighten out the letter before scanning her eyes over my grandfather's spiky cursive. I closed my eyes as she gasped at the contents of the letter, not wanting to see the look of pity in her eyes that was now inevitable. Not only was I failing Potions, a subject crucial to the career path I wanted to go down, but I also had my grandfather telling me my efforts were futile. Despite my embarrassment, I just had to ask the question I needed her opinion on. "Do you think he's right?"

"Of course I don't," she said firmly, and as I opened my eyes, I saw the familiar determination in her eyes. "I guessed you were struggling with Potions back when we were doing our week of Potions," she admitted, and even in the dim moonlight I could tell she was blushing slightly. "I just didn't want to embarrass you, or make you feel bad, I don't know." She paused, shifting her position so she was kneeling opposite me. She leaned forwards, placing her small hands on my shoulders and gripping me onto them. "Never ever give up on what you want, Scorpius. Promise me that."

I nodded, feeling tears welling up in my eyes as she leaned forward and wrapped her arms around me. I was overcome with a weird fluttery feeling in my stomach at her touch, and I wrapped mine around her waist, pulling her against me, and breathing heavily as I rested my head in the crook of her neck, to stop myself crying. Though I knew she wouldn't judge me, I didn't really think the way to winning her over would be the sight of me all puffy, snotty and gross. "It's just hard sometimes, seems like it's impossible –"

"The word impossible is _not_ in my vocabulary," Rose said, pulling away from me and laughing slightly as she saw my raised eyebrow. "Okay, _metaphorically_ it isn't in my vocabulary. I believe in you, you can do this." She tucked her hair behind her ears as she looked up at me, her eyes shining. "I'll help you with Potions, give it a few weeks and we'll get you up to an Outstanding."

I pulled her into a hug once again, and felt my lips curl into a smile as she rolled off her knees and leaned against me. It was weird; we'd spent so many years bickering and competing with one another, yet as a team, it was almost as if we were unstoppable, and no obstacle could get between us and what we wanted. "It's a relief to get all of this off my chest," I admitted, my lips brushing the fabric of her school jumper as I bowed my head. "Mum was the only one who knew before, and that was only because she caught me crying when I got my OWL results. The other boys have no idea. I wanted to tell them, but I was too ashamed."

"Not being good at everything isn't a weakness, Scor," she said, pulling away from me so she could look at me properly. I kept my arms wrapped around her waist, and despite the seriousness of our conversation, I couldn't help but make a playful dig. "Never thought I'd hear those words leave your mouth, Rosie." She hit my shoulder lightly, shaking her head as I laughed.

"Since you've been so honest with me, can _I_ tell you something I haven't told anyone?"

I nodded, and as she pressed her lips together, a million scenarios ran through my mind. Was she going to tell me she was seeing someone? That she'd done something stupid? "After our conversation before we got on the platform, I was a bit distant," she said slowly, and I resisted the urge to scoff. I knew that much, Rose not arguing with me, or interacting with me at all, had driven me completely insane. My temper regarding our minor argument in the kitchens was why we'd ended up with a week of detentions in the first place.

She sighed heavily, and I could tell she was debating whether or not to tell me. "I was seeing someone this summer," she confessed, and whilst I felt jealousy bubbling in my stomach, I couldn't help but note the past tense. "Before you ask, yes we ended. And in the most horrible way, the day before we came back to Hogwarts." Rose paused, biting the insides of her mouth, and my chest ached as a tear rolled down her cheek. "He broke my heart. I really thought I loved him at the time, but found out he was cheating on me because… because I wasn't ready to lose my virginity to him."

So what James, Fred and Louis had told us had been true: Rose really was a virgin. Well, she almost hadn't been. My hands clenched into fists; though I wasn't exactly some sort of poster boy for relationships, one thing I couldn't tolerate was cheating. I might not have ever been in a committed relationship before, but that was because I'd never thought I was ready to fully commit to a girl, and I didn't want to lead a girl on by cheating on her. "Cheaters are scum."

"Tell me about it," she said, nodding in agreement with my short statement. I could tell that she was thankful I hadn't expressed my surprise at her confessed virginity; probably because she was completely unaware I'd already known.

"Anyway, I came back to Hogwarts wanting to try and act like a new person. The guy I was seeing accused me of being closed off and unapproachable, and I didn't want to be that girl," she explained. It was like the pieces of a giant jigsaw were piecing together in my mind; that was why she'd been so uncharacteristically friendly on the first day, and we'd managed to have an actual conversation. But then she'd closed herself off again.

"It must have been the first or second day, but I passed you guys in the Inter-House Common Room and heard you all talking about girls." Her face scrunched up in disgust, and I felt a wave of guilt wash over me, knowing what was coming next. "It might sound stupid, but it reminded me of how guys could be when it comes to girls. Heartless, sometimes without even meaning to come across that way."

Her bottom lip quivered, and as I pulled her into another hug, I felt her tears soaking my Slytherin jumper. Her petite form was shaking as tears wracked her body, and she clung to me, letting out weeks of pent up sadness and heartbreak. Even if she said she felt like she'd only _felt_ like she loved him at the time, as opposed to actually loving him, I'd never wanted to punch someone more. "Do you see him around here a lot?"

"No, thank Merlin," she said through heavy sobs. She rested her head against my chest, and I prayed she couldn't feel how hard my heart was pounding at the simple gesture. I ran my hands through the ends of her hair and she let out a choked sigh, before adding, "He's not at Hogwarts."

So the boy who'd broken her heart was either at Beauxbatons or Durmstrang. Lucky him. Because even if I wouldn't break her trust by telling her cousins of how he broke her heart, I knew my friends would be willing to assist me in making the idiotic sod's life a misery if I swore a personal vendetta against him. The thought of someone making Rose cry made me furious, but also filled me with an overwhelming urge to protect the small redhead. And I knew a large part of that was probably due to the realisation of my feelings for her the other day.

"You deserve so much better, Rose," I murmured against her soft red hair, and though I couldn't see her face, I was sure I could feel her lips curl against my chest.


	14. Chapter 14

**AN: It's my day off so I thought I'd whack out an ol' chapter for you guys. Thanks again to everyone who reviewed, I'm seeing a lot of dislike for Lucius and appreciation of Rose and Scorpius' friendship, which is lovely and thank you for taking the time to tell me! **

**Open-eyed-dreamer333, if I have writer's block I usually just relax and wait for the inspiration to come back to me, also sometimes draw upon real life situations me/my friends experience, just embellishing them slightly. **

**Disclaimer: If I owned Harry Potter/didn't have to work, then trust me Penelope M. Jones, I would post everyday. **

* * *

"I can't believe the poor thing's _ill_," Rose wailed, sounding distraught as we walked into the Inter-House Common Room. Her pink lips were curled into a frown, and I could tell she was genuinely distressed, something which I couldn't help but smile fondly at.

We'd left our friends and headed to Charms about ten minutes ago, the way we always did first thing on a Friday morning, only to find our classroom completely empty. There was a note from McGonagall on the blackboard, explaining Professor Flitwick had fallen ill and was currently residing in St Mungo's so he had round-the-clock carers looking after him. Her chalked explanation for our professor's absence hadn't been thoroughly detailed, which was why Rose was so upset. "I love Professor Flitwick."

"I know you do," I chuckled, putting an arm around her shoulders in an attempt to comfort her. There might have been several professors who she considered family friends, but Professor Flitwick was easily her favourite professor, something which I'd known even before we'd become friends. She always hung behind after our lessons ended to talk to him, and I knew she liked that he'd never compared her to her mother when she'd excelled. "He'll be fine soon, Rosie. Don't worry too much, Flitwick's a fighter, even if he was a Ravenclaw."

"Was Charms that bad, that you decided to leave?" Louis chuckled as we sat down, and I couldn't help but chuckle as Rose looked almost offended by the suggestion of ditching her favourite subject. Louis, James and Fred had also continued Charms at NEWT level, but only because they needed it for their future careers; it was one of the most undersubscribed higher level subjects.

Looking around the circle, I could see that most of the boys were still sat in the same positions we'd left them in, with the exceptions of James, Fred and Toby. "Flitwick's in St Mungo's," I explained, and the redhead next to me let out a practically mournful sigh. "He'll be fine," Frank said reassuringly. "You've not missed much, we were talking about James' surprise party tonight."

I flashed him a grin, thankful for the light-hearted subject change. James was turning eighteen tomorrow, and whilst we usually celebrated birthdays in The Three Broomsticks, we thought we'd do things a bit differently for the eldest Potter's last birthday at Hogwarts. We'd invited all his friends and family members, and planned to set up in the Room of Requirement and get Alice to distract him until we were ready. Pretty much like she was doing now.

"He's gonna love it," Lucas said, grinning as he looked over at James and Alice, sat at what now had become _their_ usual area in the common room. "He literally has no idea, and you know James always appreciates a good surprise." "Who have you guys invited?" Albus asked Louis and Frank, and the two older boys exchanged a grin, knowing what he was really asking.

"Yes, Albus, we invited Tilly," they chimed in unison, smirking as Albus' cheeks flushed. The rest of us couldn't help but laugh; since Lysander had revealed that he and Tilly were merely friends, we spent even more time trying to convince Albus to tell her how he felt. I'd gone out of my way to call her over to ask about an essay whenever I was with my best friend, and the Gryffindor boys had nudged him whenever she entered a room. Lucas had even resorted to telling him to man up and ask her on a date if he really liked her when she was within earshot.

"Prats," Albus grumbled, folding his arms across his chest defensively. Despite our efforts, Albus still got tongue-tied whenever he was around her. We had a few NEWT classes with her, and she hung out in the Inter-House common room just as much as we did, but Albus was too shy to make a move on her. "I was just asking a generalised question."

"_Sure_ you were, Al," Rose said, her voice dripping with sarcasm as she shook her head at her cousin. She sat up straight, giving him a pointed look. "Seriously, channel your inner Gryffindor – it is in your blood after all – grow some balls and go tell her you've liked her since first year. What's the worst that could happen?"

"She could say no."  
"Rejection in front of the entire common room."

"She might laugh at the thought."

"Potential friendzone."

"Or maybe it'll be so awkward that she ends the friendship all together."

"You are not helping guys," Rose groaned, watching as Albus grew paler with each of our joking answers. They might not have spoken as much this year due to Albus' feelings growing even stronger for her, and her constant support for Lysander, but I knew that last year, Albus considered her one of his closest friends outside the group.

Last year, they'd studied for most of their OWL exams together, attended the other's Quidditch matches and even flew together sometimes. Usually, Albus was so private when it came to Quidditch, not wanting any other house teams to steal Slytherin tactics, but he'd always made an exception for Tilly, even going to the effort of helping her improve her Keeping skills. It was strange to see him being so awkward around her, especially after liking her for so long.

"I can't tell her," Albus insisted firmly, looking over at one of the silent study areas, where Tilly was thoughtfully biting her lip as her eyes scanned what appeared to be a scroll filled with notes. She must have gotten to Charms before Rose and I had, and decided to do some work instead of just sitting and talking like we were. Oh, Tilly was definitely a classic Ravenclaw.

"Rose, help me."

We all turned at the sound of Fred's voice, and I felt my jaw drop in shock at the sight of him. He looked like normal Fred standing in front of us, his broad figure clad in a Gryffindor jumper and dark trousers, his caramel skin splattered with even more freckles than the average Weasley had, due to hours of lounging in the sun over the summer holidays. But there was a significant difference: he had no eyebrows.

"What in Merlin's name happened to you?" Ben asked, as the rest of us roared with laughter. It was strange how someone could look so different without their eyebrows, especially someone with hair as dark as Fred's. Fred scowled at all of us, before sitting down on the other side of Rose. "I was sat outside the Ravenclaw entrance, waiting for Celestia, so I could apologise for being such a douche –"

"Aw that's kind of cute," Louis said, but I could tell by the smirk on his face that he was going to make a dig. "In a creepy stalker way." Fred glared at him, and I resisted the urge to laugh again. Since Rose had told him a bit more about Celestia, after our run-in with her a few days ago, Fred had been determined to make it up to her and apologise. I think what both Rose and Celestia herself had said had made him feel a bit guilty: he should've known who she was, and didn't. But she'd gone out of her way to avoid him, walking away whenever he came near, avoiding the communal common room at all costs. It just surprised me that Fred had resorted to waiting outside Ravenclaw Tower.

Rose took her wand and murmured softly under her breath as she flicked her wand, and Fred's eyebrows slowly re-appeared onto his face. "Thanks, Rosie." "I just don't see what the big deal is," Rose admitted, pocketing her wand once again. "Honestly, Fred, you're in your final year and you hardly know this girl. I know you feel bad for not knowing who she was, but you've only got a few months left. You probably won't see her once you've left this place. If I were you, I'd just let it go."

"I know that, but she stood up to me," Fred said matter-of-factly. "Girls, minus you and Mum, never stand up to me. And she seriously put me in my place, despite the fact I'd never noticed her before. And I'm sorry, but she's one of those girls that is _seriously_ hot when she's angry. Merlin, I'd wind her up just to see her when she looks like that."

"I can relate," I admitted, the words slipping out of my mouth before I could stop myself. My eyes widened as I realised who I was sat next to. The very same girl I used to love to wind up, just to see the spark in her blue eyes. She was currently staring at me, her lips curled in amusement at my confession, but her cheeks were tinged pink, and I could feel mine going into a similar state.

"Guys," James said as he walked over, and I thanked Merlin he managed to deflect the attention off my idiotic agreement. I could see Alice walking out of the common room carrying a Magical Creatures textbook, her lips curled into a massive grin, and her boyfriend had an equally dopey expression on his face. "Alice and me just said I love you to one another."

"Merlin."

"That was fast."

"You two will be married before you're twenty."

"Congrats, bro."

"Albus," Frank said, grinning at James' younger brother. He seemed surprisingly calm by James' announcement, especially for someone who was ridiculously protective of their little sister. "Just think, that could be you and Tilly if only you –"

"Shut up, Frank."

* * *

**/**

I took a sip from the glass of Butterbeer in my hand as I looked over at the drunken duo in the corner. James was draped all over a tipsy Rose, whose petite frame was struggling to hold him up as he leaned all of his weight on her.

We'd been in the Room of Requirement for the past two hours now, and James had done nothing but drink and dance since he'd gotten here, though the dancing had gotten progressively worse with every glass of alcohol he consumed. But I'd expected nothing less from James on his birthday; when he'd turned seventeen, he'd gotten so drunk that he ended up trying to Apparate and had managed to splinch himself. I could still remember Louis throwing up at the sight of it, whilst Albus and I had tried to figure out who was the most sober, so they could get him to St Mungo's in one piece. Or well, _y'know_, to get him back to being in one piece.

It was almost comedic watching Rose trying to hold up someone who was more than a foot taller than her. Her knees were bent and her brow was furrowed in concentration, her arms shaking as she tried to hold him up. James wasn't just tall; he was also broad, as most Beaters are, and though Rose wasn't weak, it can't have been easy for her. Alice was taking photos of them, doubled over with laughter as she watched the pair. Part of me wondered if James would even make it to midnight, we still had an hour to go and he was struggling to stand.

As I looked around the vast Room of Requirement, I couldn't help but think back to how different things were this time last year (and not just because we weren't in The Three Broomsticks), which was strange, given the fact the attendees were pretty much identical. It was just that usually, all of us boys would be stood together, until the very end when we went off with different girls. It had all been so different this year, especially because James and Alice were in a committed relationship.

Lily was stood by the drinks, drinking something that looked a lot stronger than Butterbeer, as she chatted to Toby. Lily might have been the Potter sibling I knew least, but I could recognise a flirty smile when I saw one, and to my surprise, Toby looked almost shy. What was that about? Still, I couldn't help but be surprised that their close proximity, especially at her older brother's birthday party, where she was surrounded by not only her brothers, but her equally protective male cousins.

Meanwhile, Albus was talking to Tilly, and I couldn't help but pray to Merlin he wouldn't make a fool of himself. He'd relied on quite a lot of liquid courage, whilst Tilly had to remain sober, because she was playing in a Quidditch match in the morning. Fred, Frank, Louis and Lucas were having a race to see who could down their Firewhiskey the fastest, and Ben wouldn't be there for another hour, because he couldn't get time off work at such short notice.

I could see the Scamander twins conversing with Zach Thomas and Heather Finnegan (both were fifth year Gryffindors, who were family friends of the Weasleys) as my eyes scanned the room, and a few more familiar faces. But I found my eyes landing once again on Rose, who was bent over, clutching her sides and laughing hysterically at the sight of James face planting the ground. The corners of her blue eyes were crinkled, her eyes were shining with tears of laughter at the sight of her completely _smashed_ older cousin, and I felt my lips curling into a smile at the sight.

"You're so obvious, you know that Malfoy?."

I blinked in surprise at the sound of Beth Tindall's voice. Her Northern accent was easy enough to distinguish, especially considering most of the Weasley/Potter family friends were from down south. I'd never really paid much attention to her; we'd passed one another in the Burrow for years, and she'd sat at the occasional Quidditch match with us boys and Hugo, but I'd never said a word to Hugo Weasley's best friend. I couldn't help but assume her approaching me had something to do with the alcohol she'd probably been drinking: Beth going out of her way to talk to me was quite out of character.

"Hello to you too, Tindall," I said sarcastically, smiling politely at her nonetheless. She looked amazing; her long, blonde hair fell down to just below her ridiculously big boobs, which were practically bursting out of her low-cut white top. She was taller than most girls her age, and I found myself giving a quick appreciative glance at her long legs, clad in a pair of tight, black jeans.

"Yeah, yeah, enough with the formalities," she laughed, and I wondered why I'd never noticed how friendly her Geordie accent sounded. Her red lips were curled into a toothy smile, and she shook her head at the confused look on my face. "You haven't taken your eyes off Rose all evening. I know what that look you're giving her means."

I felt my stomach lurch at the thought of her telling Hugo, or worse, _Rose_. Beth Tindall had no loyalty to me; she was practically like a little sister to Rose, which meant that I could kiss our friendship goodbye. A million different scenarios ran through my mind at the thought of her finding out, and though I'd made fun of Albus in the common room earlier, I now knew exactly how he'd felt. "I'm not going to tell anyone, you idiot," she said, rolling her eyes at the alarmed look on my face. "Not even Hugo."

"Not even Hugo?" I repeated, raising an eyebrow at her and smirking as she blushed. "That's not the only secret you'll be keeping from him, is it?" "You're an arse," she said matter-of-factly, but I could tell by her slight smile that she didn't mean it. "I only noticed you were looking at Rose because you were being _just_ as obvious as I've been with Hugo for the past three years."

"And neither of them have a clue," I said solemnly, downing my Butterbeer and wiping the excess off my lips with the back of my hand. Beth was the only person I'd confessed my feelings to, and I knew that it wasn't just the alcohol I'd been drinking; she could relate better than most of my friends could, having been in the same position for the entirety of their friendship.

"Hermione once told me that Hugo and Rose can occasionally have the emotional capacities of a teaspoon," the pretty blonde said, and I felt myself nodding in recognition; Albus had said the same thing before, grinning, after one of our many fights. I assumed it was a Weasley inside joke of some sorts. "Apparently they got it from their dad. Drove her insane when they were our age."

"Did they get their inability to see what's in front of them from him too?" I said jokingly, and Beth laughed. "You know what? They probably did." A pensive look crossed her face and she pointed at something behind me. "At least you've still got a chance."

I glanced over my shoulder and found myself watching Rose's younger brother engaging in a game of tonsil tennis with a brunette Hufflepuff in their year. I could recall seeing them walking around Hogwarts together, but I hadn't realised that they were exclusive, which was what Beth was implying. Nonetheless, I turned back to her and snorted. "Please, it's not like it's any girl that I have feelings for. It's Rose frickin' Weasley."

Beth bit her bottom lip and leaned forwards to whisper in my ear, surprising me with the flirtatious look on her face. "Well, _maybe_ if you paid more attention, you'd see that you might have more of a chance than you think." She smiled at me, and I scrunched up my brow confusedly as she walked off; I thought she'd been attempting to flirt with me, but there hadn't been a hint of suggestion in her tone of voice just then. Had she just been trying to make it look like she was flirting with me? And why would she do that?

As I contemplated an answer to those questions, I looked up and found my eyes locking with a pair of familiar blue eyes. Rose was no longer laughing at her cousin, who must have been dragged off by his girlfriend in the hope of sobering him up. Instead, the redhead was staring right at me, and though I immediately noticed how beautiful she looked, I couldn't ignore the way her pink lips were curled into a frown. Her eyes were narrowed slightly, and if I didn't know any better, she looked almost… _jealous_.

"Scor!"

I broke eye contact with Rose as Albus came over to me, his breath reeking of Firewhiskey. "I've been talking to Tilly all night," he said proudly, puffing out his chest. "And it was just like it used to be. I really like her, Scor. I just can't bring myself to tell her because I'm scared it will ruin our friendship. Because she is the coolest girl I know, Scor. And I've never liked a girl like this before. You know I haven't. Godric, I've got with _loads_ of girls before, but I would take all that back if it meant I could have Til."

I nodded, strangely understanding exactly what he meant. I glanced over at Rose, who was stood next to Lysander, nodding as he whispered into her ear. "Trust me, Al. I know exactly how you feel."


	15. Chapter 15

**AN: It's been a rollercoaster few days since my last update; my laptop (with Chapters 15-20 written out, ready to publish) is now broken (after an incident involving copious amounts of alcohol and a very idiotic group of friends) so sorry this one is a bit later than I would've liked it to be! **

**Keep the reviews coming, they're what will serve as motivation to re-write those lost chapters haha. I'm joking, but it would be nice to get some anyway! **

**Disclaimer: If I owned Harry Potter, I would not have to work 6 days a week to try and save up for a car. I could just buy one with a credit card (or enchant a Ford Anglia to fly)**

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"AND ANOTHER FANTASTIC SAVE BY MATILDA CLEARWATER! THE SCORE REMAINS AT 50-20 TO RAVENCLAW"

"Does Jason have to be so loud?" Alice grumbled, pressing her hands to her ears as Jason Jordan's amplified voice rang through the stadium. Her auburn hair was unusually matted, and you'd have to be blind to miss the dark circles under her eyes. In the row in front of us, Lysander nodded in agreement, clutching his head with a pained expression on his face.

To say that most of us were suffering the consequences would be an extreme understatement. I'd woken up this morning with a mouth drier than the deserts of Egypt, and the sensation of shards of glass stabbing me in the eyes. This morning, Albus and I had rushed straight to the Gryffindor dormitories, in the hope that Rose had some Hangover or Pepper-Up Potion, only to find her collection empty, and she was definitely not in a state to make a fresh batch herself. "Why are we even here?" Lucas groaned, lifting his Muggle sunglasses (borrowed off Ben) for a moment, exposing his extremely bloodshot eyes.

"To learn the other teams' Quidditch tactics," Rose and Albus answered in perfect unison either side of me, leaning forwards to grin at each other. Despite their many differences, my two friends could be classified in the same category of Quidditch captain: ruthless and determined. Both were known for their strenuous training sessions, and it wasn't a surprise that Gryffindor and Slytherin matches had always been the most intense to watch. Their attendance this morning hadn't even been a question, a herd of centaurs probably couldn't have kept them away from the opportunity to scope out the other teams' new players.

"Finch-Fletchey is a decent Chaser," Albus said thoughtfully, as the blonde Hufflepuff flew past us, the Quaffle tucked under his right arm. Rose nodded her head, narrowing her blue eyes as she focused on the boy Albus had just pointed out, mentally assessing his flying. "He's weak on his left side," she said critically, and it amazed me that her and Albus were both able to pick out small details like that. "Balance, catching and accuracy when throwing."

"You hear that, Toby? Hit him on his left side. And Scor you or one of the other Chasers can wait below so you're ready to catch the Quaffle when he drops it."

"You too, James and Frank."

"Merlin, can't you two just _enjoy_ a Quidditch match without analysing every second of it?" Fred chuckled as Hufflepuff scored, shaking his head in disbelief at his two younger cousins. Louis nodded his head in agreement; the corner of his lips quirking up into his infamous half-smile that naturally elicited gasps and giggles from several girls near us. Fred and Louis were blessed with the inability to get hangovers after a night out, something which I'd always been jealous of. It meant they'd hardly missed a night out last year, whilst I'd had to stop going out so much around the time of OWLs. And right now, they looked a hell of a lot better than the rest of us.

"I'm only here to support Tilly, otherwise I'd be lying in bed," Lysander said, turning around to face us as he did so. It was only then I realised how strangely bed-rumpled he looked; his black jumper was creased and it didn't even look like he'd combed his hair this morning. Lorcan didn't turn around, but nodded his head in apparent agreement. We'd invited them to James' celebrations last night, and whilst we'd been happy that they showed up, I was more pleasantly surprised by the fact they'd chosen to sit with us at this Quidditch match.

"Albus is only here for Til too," Hugo said from the row in front of us. His lips curled into the same teasing smile I'd seen on his older sister at least a hundred times, before she made a dig at someone. "I mean, he couldn't miss out on an opportunity to stare at Tilly for an extended period of time without it being creepy. He only gets a few opportunities a year to do that."

Next to him, Beth giggled as the rest of us laughed too. Though she'd been seemingly worried about Hugo and his new girlfriend yesterday, the Hufflepuff girl was nowhere to be seen, and she was currently sporting her best friend's over-sized Gryffindor Quidditch team jumper. Though wearing your best friend's clothes wasn't necessarily a big deal, it was a bit different when it was a guy you liked, and I was happy to see her smiling despite our talk yesterday. Albus leaned forward to whack his younger cousin round the back of his head, murmuring, "Fuck you, Hugo."

Like Rose, Tilly still managed to look pretty whilst playing Quidditch. I think it definitely had something to do with the two of them being the only girls to play Quidditch for a Hogwarts team; there was something attractive about girls who weren't afraid to play. Albus had told us how proud his Uncle Ron was when a young Rose had moaned about how unfair it was that Teddy, James, Fred and Louis got to play Quidditch together, and had gone out to buy her first broom that same day.

"AND MACMILLAN SHOOTS BUT IT'S SAVED WITH A BRILLIANT STARFISH AND STICK FROM CLEARWATER!"

"Tilly's gotten even better," Rose murmured, her brow creasing with worry as she looked over at our brunette friend. It took a lot of balance and skill as a Keeper to be able to execute a good Starfish and Stick and let's just say, if Tilly had been as petite as Rose, there's no way she would've managed to stretch herself out enough to defend the hoops. "Might have to increase Chaser practice before our match against Ravenclaw."

"Hugo's still better," I said honestly, smiling at her younger brother as he turned around to grin at me appreciatively. I bent down to whisper in her ear, putting a reassuring arm around her shoulder. "Plus, you're the best Chaser at Hogwarts, remember? She might have gotten better but so have you, and you managed to get the Quaffles past her last year." "Thanks, Scor," the small redhead replied, beaming up at me, as I tried to ignore the way my stomach flipped at the sight of her smile

* * *

**/**

"AND AFTER THEIR FIRST GAMES OF THEIR YEAR, GOLDSTEIN CATCHES THE SNITCH, MAKING IT 240-70! RAVENCLAW WIN!"

The blue and bronze students surrounding us stood up and cheered as Jason's final commentary rang through the speakers, and we all pressed our hands to our ears as their roars overwhelmed us. They began rushing down to the pitch, to celebrate their team's victory, as had become Hogwarts tradition for the winning team of any match. "Well that's added to my headache," James rasped, having lost his voice screaming and singing the entirety of last night. I was surprised he'd been dragged out of bed to watch the game; the Weasley and Potter family loved their Quidditch, but showing up to a game when you looked as rough as James was pure dedication. Alice, tucked under his arm, nodded her head in agreement, using her index fingers to rub her temples.

"It's tough to call who's gonna win the cup this year," Toby said, biting his lip as he looked down at everyone gathering on the pitch. The supporters clad in yellow were making their way back to the castle, as we made our way down the stands, looking considerably saddened by their team's loss, but Toby was right. Tilly had upped her game, but the new Hufflepuff Chasers were a decent bunch. Most of them were at least two years younger than us, yet they'd only been twenty points behind Ravenclaw before Joe Goldstein caught the Snitch.

"Gryffindor."

"Easy."

"I reckon Rosie will get that many past Tilly by herself."

"And between the three of us, we can get double what Hufflepuff got."

Rose couldn't help but laugh at Louis and Fred's bold confidence, something they always did when they were around Albus, because they knew it scared him. Though he loved being Slytherin Captain, and never regretted allowing the Sorting Hat to put him into our House, I knew he envied how good the Gryffindor team were. Rose, Louis and Fred weren't known as the Golden Trio of Quidditch for nothing; most Keepers struggled to catch the Quaffle when the three of them were playing tactically.

"Right, let's not get too cocky," she said, playfully punching her cousins' shoulders. "I know you two are confident, but don't think I'm letting you slack off in practice because we're _good_. We need to be better than good." As her two older cousins pouted, she rolled her eyes and turned back to face me. "Come on, Scor, let's go find Til and say well done."

I nodded, allowing Albus to lead the way, and instinctively reaching for Rose's small hand as we weaved through the crowd of supporters. Every so often, I turned back to check she was okay; I knew Rose Weasley was definitely capable of handling herself, but she was a lot smaller than most students, and I didn't want to lose her in the mob of blue, especially as she was wearing one of Fred's blue cable knit jumpers.

"TILLY!"

I looked up ahead to see a group of seventh year Ravenclaw boys lowering Tilly from their shoulders, and her face lit up as she saw the three of us making our way towards her. We'd lost the others in the throng of people, but they'd be looking out for Tilly too. "You were great, Til!" Albus gushed, throwing his arms around her and swinging her around the second the group of older boys left. He set her down on the ground, his arms remaining around her waist as he smiled down at her. "You've gotten even better!"

I could see a familiar look in his green eyes, one I'd only ever seen him give her, despite the handful of girls he'd kissed over the years. It was one of pure adoration, and though Lily had always questioned how strong his feelings for Tilly could really be if he was getting with other girls, the look in his eyes proved that none of them would mean as much to him as she did. I just wondered if that was what I looked like when I looked at Rose.

She squeezed my hand, her eyes widening as she nodded at my best friend, who was lowering his head, lips pursed slightly. "Should we… go?" Rose murmured hesitantly, so I was the only one who could hear her. Though I knew she was right, I couldn't bring myself to look away, waiting with bated breath and praying Albus was finally summing up the courage to finally make a move on her.

But I suppressed the urge to groan as he turned his head less than a breath away from her lips, planting a kiss on her cheek instead. "Um," he said, his cheeks burning with embarrassment as he realised what he'd just been about to do. He allowed his arms to slip from around her waist and took a step back, his green eyes wide. "Well done again, Til. Erm, I've got to go."

Rose stepped forwards, probably to hug Tilly herself, to try and distract our friend from what had just happened, but she froze as Tilly's hand closed around Albus' wrist. She had a serious look in her turquoise eyes, and even though I felt like I was interrupting a private moment, I definitely had to see what was going to happen now. "I can't wait any longer, Al," she said so quietly amongst the roaring crowd that I wasn't sure she'd said it at first. But my jaw dropped in surprise as Tilly tilted her head up and crashed her lips against his.

At first, my best friend froze; completely taken aback by what was happening, but after a few seconds he kissed her back, his hands finding her way to her waist once again.

"THAT'S MY BROTHER!"

"YOU GO, ALBUS!"

"I told you Til would make a move before Albus, Lor!"

"You might have known that, but you weren't smart enough to bet on it, 'sander. Uncle Ron now owes Lou and me ten Galleons _each_."

"Hang on, you bet on me?" Tilly said, sounding slightly breathless as she pulled away from Albus and narrowed her eyes at Fred and Louis. Albus had a dopey smile on his face, but it left as he realised what his two cousins had just said. "Hang on, you two bet against me? You thought I wouldn't make the first move?!"

"Well," Louis said, having the decency to sound slightly sheepish. "It was last summer, Uncle Ron saw how flustered you got around Tilly after Gryffindor beat Ravenclaw in the final match of the year. He said he reckoned you'd sum up the courage to make a move on her before the end of this school year."

"Did you miss what just happened?" Albus asked, sounding mildly cocky, but turning to smile at Tilly to show her how he really felt about it. "I think you're missing the point here, Al," Rose said, smirking at her now confused cousin. "Dad said he thought you would sum up the courage to make a move on Tilly." Albus nodded, his brow furrowed in concentration, and instead of sighing exasperatedly at his inability to see what his cousins were saying (like I did), Rose laughed. "_You_ didn't make the move. Tilly did. And thank Merlin she did, I don't think I could take an another year of you pining after her."

The pair in front of us blushed, Albus going the full Weasley red and Tilly's cheeks having more of a pink flush to them. I suppose it was a bit awkward, not only having your family members bet on how long it's going to take you to get together, but also having a number of them around you as you had your first kiss with one another. The public gesture post-Quidditch match was just so typical of any member of the Weasley/Potter family; I was mildly annoyed I hadn't placed a bet myself.

"Well, okay," Albus said, running a hand through his messy jet-black hair before placing it on the small of Tilly's back. "So I chickened out, like I've done quite a few times, but I want to keep a tiny bit of my dignity." He paused, his green eyes shining as he looked down at her. "Tilly, will you go on a date with me?"

Instead of giving a verbal response, Tilly stood up on her tiptoes, wrapping her arms around Albus' neck and kissing him again, making Louis and Fred wolf-whistle and James and Frank feign disgust. "Oh Godric, I thought we'd never find you guys again," Hugo said, his arm linked with Beth's as they pushed through the crowd and stood beside Rose and me. Both their eyes widened at the sight of Albus and Tilly kissing. "W-What? W-When? H-How did – did Albus –"

"No, Albus did _not_ kiss Tilly," Ben said, smirking as Hugo's face fell. "Tilly made the first move on him." Beth laughed at the disappointed look on Hugo's face, and the fourth year boy groaned. "That means I owe Grandpa Arthur five Galleons."

"GRANDPA ARTHUR BET AGAINST ME?!"


	16. Chapter 16

**AN: I am aware that what I intended to be a short hiatus turned into a year, so for that I am inexplicably sorry. (But in that year I dropped out of university for personal reasons and travelled all around South East Asia). **

**Anyway, enough of my drivel and on with the story (I promise to never leave you guys for a ridiculously long period of time again, thank you to all of you who have favourited/reviewed and I hope some of you are still around to read this). **

**Please review your thoughts, I will get back into the swing of things soon I promise xo **

**(PS ALSO posting the Prologue to my new FF in the next few days, which is so exciting, please go check it out when I've finally perfected and posted it)**

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/

"I don't like it."

"Me neither."

"We've always been so good at warding guys away from our little sister."

"How did we not notice?"

"Is that a serious question?" Rose snorted, raising an incredulous eyebrow as both Potter brothers stared blankly at her.

The subjects of James and Albus' shock were Lorcan Scamander and their beloved little sister, the former having kissed her at the Ravenclaw victory party the night before. One minute I'd seen Lily dancing with Roxy, Hugo and Beth, the next she had her arms around the eldest Scamander twin's neck and was kissing him with more passion than I'd expect from a fourth year.

Toby had stormed off to find more alcohol, only further supporting my suspicions that he had feelings for the youngest Potter, and Fred had shook his head in disbelief, saying Lorcan was lucky Albus and James were otherwise engaged or he'd be in the Hospital Wing faster than he could call for Madame Pomfrey. Louis hadn't seemed too bothered, whilst Ben and Lucas looked like they couldn't care less.

Though I'd been surprised at Lorcan's sudden embrace, which had resulted in cheers and wolf whistles echoing throughout the Ravenclaw Common Room, Rose had laughed at the look on my face, commenting it was about time he made a move and won her over.

"Maybe if you hadn't been seen sneaking off to the Gryffindor dormitory with Tilly _Al_, and if Alice hadn't had to remove you from the party because you were heavily intoxicated _James_, you would've been there to stop it happening," Rose said pointedly, and I could see that she was resisting to smirk as James and Albus looked at one another sheepishly.

"Al, James, at the end of the day, you should just let them do their thing," Tilly said, perched on Albus' lap. As her boyfriend of just twenty-four hours stared at her dubiously she laughed, oblivious to the way his eyes softened at the gentle sound. _Merlin_, was Albus in love. "I know you're worried about Lily dating when she's still quite young; you're her older brothers, that's completely natural, but just be grateful that it's Lorcan." James scoffed at her soft words but to my surprise, Fred nodded his head in agreement. "She's not wrong, mate. Think about it, we practically grew up with the twins. If there's anyone outside the family who truly understands the Weasley wrath it's them."

"_And_ us," Frank and Alice chimed in unison, their lips curled into identical pouts at the thought of being forgotten by the Weasley cousins. "And _us_ actually," I pointed out, gesturing to the other Slytherin boys, who grinned at my acknowledgement. I couldn't even count how many times we'd been to The Burrow or any other Weasley/Potter residence over the years we'd been friends with the older boys. We were definitely seen there more than some of the older Weasley cousins, like Victoire and Molly.

"Obviously he meant _excluding_ you lot," Louis said, rolling his eyes as we smirked in approval. He turned to James and Albus, an unusually serious look crossing his face. "I get that it's not great watching your sister with her first "boyfriend" or whatever they are, _Merlin_, I tried to give the intimidating talk to boys Dominique was dating before I'd even hit puberty, but Lorcan's a good guy. He might have played the field with us in the past but he knows us all and knows to respect Lily."

We all looked up as the chime for next class chimed and all around the Inter-House Common Room, students were gathering their things. Tilly sighed, slipping off Albus' lap and brushing herself off. She leaned forwards to pick up her Care of Magical Creatures textbook, as Lucas and Ben groaned and stood up, following her lead. Just as she was about to turn and leave with the two Slytherin boys, she kissed Albus on the cheek and murmured, "Give Lorcan a chance, and invite him to sit over here."

I gaped at Albus as he nodded obediently, raising his hand and gesturing Lorcan, who was now sat alone. "Albus, what are you doing?" I asked, hearing the strangled tone of my own voice. "Calling Lorcan over," he replied, as if it was the most routine thing to do; it might have been last year but it certainly wasn't this year.

"Merlin, Al."

"I think you're worse than James."

"Hey – I resent that."

"He's in love."

"He's whipped."

Albus laughed, shaking his head dismissively at our teasing comments and lowering his voice as Lorcan made his way over. "You guys make it sound like it's a bad thing. Just wait, one day you'll find the perfect girl and realise that you'd do anything to make her happy."

I knew that feeling, and it was scary. Not that the actual feeling itself caused chills to spread across my body, no it was rather the extent of it; to know that you accounted another person's preferences and needs higher than your own, that their happiness is of sole importance to you, no matter what the consequences. And as these thoughts ran through my mind, it took every inch of my will power to stop my eyes from drifting over to the beautiful redhead sat opposite me. The same redhead who I couldn't stop thinking these things about.

* * *

**/**

"Mr Malfoy, can I talk to you for a minute please?"

I resisted the urge to groan or cry as Professor Slughorn called after me. Though I'd been finding Potions a lot easier since I'd started studying with Rose (I refused to go as far to admit that she'd been _tutoring _me, even though Al had done nothing but tease me since), I still hated the double session that concluded my Monday afternoons. And I'd avoided one-on-one interaction with him since he'd sent home the progress report that had gotten me in so much trouble with my Grandfather.

As I felt a slight pressure on my right hand, I looked down to see Rose gently squeezing it, reassurance radiating from her big eyes. "Hey, don't worry," she said softly. "Whatever he says, just know that you've massively upped your Potions game since the beginning of the year." Her lips curled into a smile as she teased, "You can actually recognise a Potion by its appearance now."

From anyone else, the comment would be spiteful and malicious, with the intention of hurting me, but I knew Rose and I knew she was commenting on what a long way I'd come since our conflict at the beginning of the year. And not just with Potions; I know considered her to be one of my best friends, the academic rivalry which had distanced us for the past five years consequently becoming friendly competition. "Save me a place in the Inter-House Common Room, okay?"

She nodded, turning to smile at Professor Slughorn before exiting the dungeons. I shifted on my feet slightly, so I was completely facing him, and tried to hide my surprise as I saw him smiling back at me. "Don't look so worried, Mr Malfoy. I'm not here to reprimand you. I'm actually here to congratulate you." I furrowed my brow in confusion and he walked over to his desk, picking up a sheet of parchment and presenting it to me. "I took a look at your practice test that you all did at the beginning of the session, and I wasn't going to give it back to you until next week but I just had to congratulate you on how much progress you've made."

My eyes fixated on the O at the top of my test; in all my years at Hogwarts, I'd never gotten an Outstanding in Potions, I was bloody proud enough on the rare occasion I received an Exceeds Expectations. "T-Thank you, Sir. I mean, I've had some help, there's no way I could've improved so much by myself."

"Ah yes," Slughorn said as he smiled fondly, an unreadable emotion in his eyes. "I heard from a reliable source that Miss Weasley and yourself have made amends this year." He walked across the room slowly, until he was stood behind his desk. "I trust you will not need the assistance of a potion we shall be studying in the upcoming weeks, _Amortentia_, to identify your feelings for her?"

I felt my stomach lurch at his words, my entire body going numb as I gulped. "W-What do you mean, Professor?" I asked shakily and Slughorn threw his head back, laughing in a fond way, a way reserved for only his favourite students. If I was honest, I'd only heard him laugh like that around Rose and Albus. "Perhaps I am wrong, Mr Malfoy. But the wistful looks you give her remind me of the looks her mother used to give her father in their sixth year." My lips parted, and I considered saying something, but any coherent thought had left my brain. So instead, I gaped at him like one of the creatures that swam in the Black Lake.

"You can leave, Mr Malfoy," Slughorn said, shaking his hand dismissively at me and taking a seat behind his desk. I nodded, folding up the piece of parchment and putting it in the pocket of my robes. I begun made my way to the stone archway of the dungeons, but it was only as my foot was out the door that I heard him say, "Make sure you hold onto her, boy. I have a special feeling about you two."

* * *

**/**

I stared at the enchanted ceiling above as my fellow Slytherins chatted amongst themselves, my eyes fixating on the enchanted ink blue sky and amber candlelight glow. The food had long disappeared from in front of us, and we'd been sat waiting for some sort of announcement for the past half hour. Though the beautiful surroundings weren't the only thing that made the Great Hall a suitable waiting room; it was the people watching.

I was aware of Albus to my right, blowing kisses at Tilly, who was sat at the next table along; opposite him, Toby was attempting to nonchalantly look over at the Gryffindor table, namely at Lily, who was giggling and hanging onto Lorcan's every word. Opposite me, Ben was chatting politely to Zara Burke, a girl in our year who he'd always gotten on with and to my left, Lucas was fidgeting impatiently.

Two tables away, James had his arms around Alice's waist, his chin resting on her shoulder as they spoke to Frank. I still hadn't really come to terms with the fact that James, the same James who used to avoid any responsibility or commitment, was now happily in a relationship.

Alice kept him on his toes, and I knew when I eventually got into a relationship myself it was going to have to be with someone who did the same to me. Since Albus had made his point about what we'd be like when we found the perfect girl, and my encounter with Slughorn earlier in the day, it was all that had been on my mind. I needed a girl so outspoken and honest that she wouldn't be afraid to point out when I was in the wrong or needed to be brought down a peg or two. I wanted someone who I could spend every moment of every day with without running out of things to say, but also someone who trusted me enough so I could be away from without them worrying about me straying; a girl whose presence would be permanently embedded in my mind, and whenever I were to think about her, my heart would beat a bit faster and it would cause me to grin like a fool.

And even though I hadn't intentionally fit my ideal girlfriend to a description of her, there was only one name on my mind as I thought about it.

I could see Fred and Louis roaring with laughter at something she said, her eyes twinkling as she threw her own head back and laughed. The candlelight of the Great Hall only enhanced her beauty; her long, red hair appeared more vibrant, the freckles, which dusted her sun-kissed cheeks more prominent, and her pink lips looked softer and fuller –

"Merlin."

For the second time that day, I felt my stomach lurch, terrified that one of the boys had caught me looking at Rose with such clear adoration that they'd been able to put two and two together. But thankfully my feelings for the fiery redhead two tables down hadn't even crossed anyone's minds.

Whispers echoed throughout the Great Hall as a tall, admittedly attractive wizard made his way from the entrance doors to the Professors' table. The growing jealousy on every Hogwarts male's face was evident with every step of his expensive leather shoes; the girls were completely transfixed. He was tall, an inch or so less than me, with dark brown hair and brooding dark brown eyes. He wore his robes, but even they couldn't mask the presence of the bulging muscles underneath. As he got nearer to our end of the hall, I noted that he couldn't have been more than twenty five, easily the youngest Professor to grace the castle since our time here.

"He's _so_ hot."  
"Did you see? He totally just looked my way!"

"Don't kid yourself, Maisie."

"I've always wondered what it's like to sleep with a Professor. There's something attractive about an older man."

"Merlin," I said, rolling my eyes at the group of Slytherin girls next to us, Zara Burke being one of them. "You'd think they had never seen an older guy before." "_All_ the girls are going to spend their time sucking up to the new guy," Lucas sighed, his lips curling into a frown. "And sleeping with any of them will be a mission. Their standards of guys our age will sky-rocket because they'll all want us to be as perfect as Professor… whatever-his-name-is."

"I wonder if he's just a Trainee Professor, doing a bit of work experience at Hogwarts," Ben speculated. Toby shook his head, sitting back and folding his arms across his chest. "More than likely he's gonna be covering Flitwick's classes until he's better. I heard Rose say something about it earlier – the seventh years and fifth years threw a tantrum because they don't have a Professor and they're missing vital contact hours before their exams… something like that."

"Ladies and gentlemen, can I please have your attention," Professor McGonagall said, rising to her feet as the man in question reached her side. "Standing beside me is the newly qualified Professor Charles Davies. As most of you have probably guessed, he will be the temporary Charms professor as we wait for the recovery of Professor Flitwick."

There was a resounding sound, consisting of groans and sighs, which came from several of the sixth and seventh year girls. Charms wasn't a popular NEWT topic, due to its difficulty, and it just happened to be one of the few male-dominated elective classes. "He looks familiar," Albus murmured, and I zoned out Professor McGonagall's Scottish tone as he looked at the new Professor with a furrowed brow. "I just can't put my finger on how I know him and it's really bothering me."

"You've probably seen him at Dumbledore's Army reunions," Toby said, scowling at me as I blinked at him in surprise. "Hey, educational guess." He turned back to Albus, shrugging his shoulders. "His surname's Davies… as in Roger Davies' son. His Dad was in it with yours. We learned about it in fourth year."

Albus nodded, "You're probably right, shouldn't overthink it. The amount of stupid functions we've been dragged to since we were kids, half of the wizards in England look familiar."

_Merlin, I wish he'd thought over it._


	17. Chapter 17

**AN: Thank you to those of you who took the time to read this even after the year-long hiatus; amazing to have some familiar names in my emails but also great to have some new ones! A few guesses about what Professor Davies' role is in this but for now… here's another chapter (I know it was a long wait for this next one too, I'll be better once I've gotten back into the swing of things I promise – next chapter has already been written and will be up Sunday/Monday at the latest xo) **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of these characters. However, I do own a copy of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child and I finished it on the day it came out as my boyfriend drove us around Manchester slowly so he could catch Pokemon. It really feels like the 90s again.**

* * *

**(Toby POV)**

"Honestly, thank you _so_ much Toby," Lily said, smiling serenely at me. I'd just given her a few detailed starting points to help her write an essay on the advantages and disadvantages of the Wit-Sharpening Potion, even though we weren't due to meet up for a tutoring session until tomorrow. "I don't know how I used to cope without you."

I couldn't get her off my mind. We met up twice a week for tutoring, yet I found myself watching her lithe form whenever we passed one another within the castle's walls. She'd wave at me and I'd nod back politely, reducing her girly, gossiping group of friends to a pile of giggles. I'd always assumed she was exactly like them: that group of girls in every year that you knew wasn't all that intelligent or funny, but found everything _you_ said funny and intelligent. Easily impressed. The kind of girls we all found ourselves getting with.

But it wasn't like that with Lily.

I'd thought she was a younger carbon copy of all the girls I'd gotten with at Hogwarts: pretty, but that was all she had going for her. But the youngest Potter was so much more than that; every day we spent together, she surprised me with how mature she was. She was ambitious; she knew exactly what she wanted to do with her life and how she was going to get there; she was talented, I'd seen her sketches and fashion designs and I knew she was going places. She was also surprisingly sharp, her wit almost on par with her cousin Rose's. She radiated confidence, which was an impressive thing to do at only fifteen years old.

_Merlin, she was only fifteen. Sure, I didn't turn seventeen until June but still. _

_And more importantly: she was James and Albus' beloved little sister._

"Toby?" Lily said gently, placing a hand on my forearm to get my attention. I tried to ignore the sound of my blood pumping in my ears and forced a smile on my face. "Sorry, Lily. Just dazed off. Haven't been getting enough sleep recently."

"Another eventful night?" she said, pink lips curled into a smirk as she looked across the table at me, intensity from her big, brown eyes boring into mine. I grabbed my bottle of water and took a swig from it as she tilted her head to one side and laughed. "Was it Monica Evans or Maddie King again?"

"S-Sorry, what did you say?" I spluttered in shock, as she named the two Slytherin girls I'd slept with most recently. How on earth did she know about them? She shook her head in disbelief, though there was still a smirk on her face. "Monica or Maddie again? You know, I am Albus' little sister, I have heard him and Scorpius complaining quite a few times about lack of sleep because of your somewhat… promiscuous antics."

I was going to _kill_ my friends.

"They… they were exaggerating," I said, lying through my teeth and praying it wasn't too obvious. "Honestly, I've not even slept with that many girls." Lily shrugged, smiling at me. "I wasn't insulting you, Toby. I always notice that pretty girls flock to attractive guys as if they're under the Imperius Curse."

"You think I'm attractive?"

She hesitated in her response, and I blinked in surprise as her cheeks flushed slightly. "I – I mean… yes. You must know you're insanely attractive." I felt the corners of my lips twitch as I fought to keep a grin off my face. "Well, you're one of the prettiest girls I know – is that why we spend so much time together?" As she looked back up at me, her brown eyes twinkled mischievously, and I could see that my reply had reassured her.

"Partially. It's also your intelligence and titillating charm."

"And now I'm charming too?"

"Extremely charming."

"If I wasn't mistaken, I'd think you were flirting with me, Lily Luna."

"And would that be such a bad thing?"

I paused as a wave of guilt washed me, knowing what my answer should have been. Not only was she Albus and James' little sister, who I'd known since she was ten years old, but she also had a boyfriend. I'd hated watching Lorcan all over her; now he wasn't as close to our group, he clearly had no issue with dating the youngest Potter. I hadn't just been reluctant to make a move on the beautiful redhead in front of me because of them, I'd also been worried about her age, but no one had any issues with her dating Lorcan, who was _already_ seventeen.

"I'd have no problem if you _were_ flirting with me."

As she beamed back at me, the wave of guilt disappeared, and I knew I'd said the right thing. "I'll keep that in mind," she said suggestively, rising to her feet and beginning to gather her books. I leaned back in my chair, attempting to mask the fact I was more than slightly disappointed that she was leaving. "You don't have a few more minutes to hang out?"

"Promised Rox I'd do her make-up before dinner," she said, smiling apologetically at me. "She has a study date with Liam Wadsworth later and she's hoping it will lead to a kiss or more." "Shame ours didn't end like that," I declared boldly, smirking as she raised an eyebrow at me. I wanted nothing more than to grab her and kiss her right now, but I honestly couldn't tell if little Lily was being genuine in her flirtation or if she was merely teasing me.

She bent down to give me a friendly hug with her free arm, books held firmly with her left, before pressing her lips to my ear and whispering, "Maybe it's not your lucky day… not yet."

I was still sat in shock as I watched her walk out of the library, her slim hips swaying in a manner that was almost hypnotising.

"You realise Albus and James are going to kill you if anything happens?"

I jumped in surprise as I heard Lucas' voice, and he threw his head back and laughed as he emerged from the bookshelf next to our table, not seeming to care about Madam Pince's harsh shushing. "_Merlin_, Lucas. You scared the shit out of me. How long have you been hiding back there?" "About a half hour," he answered honestly, sitting in the seat previously vacated by a prettier, welcome redhead. "I thought you found her attractive but I didn't realise you were so bloody obvious about it."

"Firstly," I snapped defensively, folding my arms across my chest. "You need to find a new way to kill some time; stalking people is creepy, and I'm pretty sure it's illegal in the Muggle world."

"Well, actually, Ben's got me a job at The Three Broomsticks. Since he went and spoke to McGonagall about it, and she agreed that OWL and NEWT students could have part-time jobs as long as they maintained their grades, I've been pestering him to get me one and –"

"And _second_," I said, the finality in my voice evident. "What James and Albus don't know won't hurt them."

* * *

**(Scorpius POV)**

"No but seriously," Frank said, subtly looking over at the sixth year Hufflepuff girls on the other side of the common room. "Holly Ellis? Strictly eye candy."

"You've got to be kidding. I'd say she's easily the second hottest in our year, minus Weasley," Lucas protested, as he glanced over at the blonde Hufflepuff. My immediate reaction was to scowl at him, but as I noticed her cousins doing the same, I tried to act as nonchalant as possible. It was normal for them to be annoyed at him for complimenting Rose, seeing as they were insanely protective of her, but it wasn't as normal for me to be. _Merlin_, if they didn't like Lucas talking about Rose like that, how on earth would they react to the fact I liked her.

"_Yes,_ Stack," James sighed, and I was thankful that the attention had gone back to Holly. "But she's also ridiculously stuck up. Alice can't stand her. Apparently it's like talking to a brick wall." I always forgot Alice was in Hufflepuff; we'd all heard about how it had terrified a twelve-year-old James as he watched her be sorted from his place at the Gryffindor table, but her close friendship with Rose always tricked me into thinking she was a Gryffindor too.

"Oh I forgot we all have to go by your girlfriend's judge of character, James. Thanks for your input."

"Oh fuck off –"

"My sister is actually a really good judge of character. She doesn't dislike many people. So it's a pretty big deal."

I zoned out of the ensuing debate as I looked over at the group of armchairs next to us and saw Beth Tindall perched on the edge of one of them, her doe-shaped eyes fixated on something on the other side of the common room – _oh._

As I allowed myself to follow her gaze, I was met with the sight of Hugo Weasley joint at the lips with his Hufflepuff girlfriend. I couldn't even begin to imagine the string of emotions running through Beth's head as she watched the boy she'd liked since the beginning of her first year kissing someone who wasn't her. But the fact of the matter was that Hugo was just as attractive as his older sister was, a fact that didn't escape by the females (and some males) of Hogwarts. The only significant differences were that he'd inherited his father's height, standing tall at 6'0, though his shoulders were a lot broader and he had a jawline that had all the girls in his year squealing.

And whilst I liked Rose's little brother and knew he was probably oblivious to how his best friend felt, I felt like I had to go and say something.

I excused myself from our usual place in the common room, standing up and crossing the short distance between our set of armchairs and the next. "Don't torture yourself, Tindall," I said softly, making sure no one else would hear. "You can't continue to just pine after him like this."

She jumped slightly; exhaling with relief once she looked up and saw it was me stood in front of her. "I can't help it, Malfoy," she sighed, pursing her lips thoughtfully. "I don't know if you've noticed, but I don't really have many other friends. Especially ones in our year." I couldn't help but think of Rose; they were actually alarmingly similar: intelligent, attractive girls who couldn't be bothered to talk about the latest article in Witch Weekly or which boy they were hoping would ask them to Hogsmeade. Rose always gravitated towards guys; she'd always admitted she just found it easier to get along with them.

"Come and sit with me and my friends," I said, and she turned to me, eyebrows raised in surprise. I couldn't help but laugh at what must have been running through her mind; it wasn't like we weren't familiar with Beth, but she never really hung out with us without Hugo or Rose being there. "C'mon. Honestly, they're a nice group of guys once you get to know them. And you already know Frank, Fred, and the Potter brothers well enough. Plus, it's better than you sitting here by yourself."

She tilted her head to the side, her long, blonde hair swishing with her movement. Last year, Lucas had proposed the theory that if you were to cut Beth's hair into a bob, she wouldn't be nearly as attractive. I didn't necessarily agree, but her hair was gorgeous. "I hate to say it, Malfoy," she sighed, pushing the arms of the armchair and rising to her feet. "But I think you're right."

I felt the corners of my mouth curl upwards into a smile as I nodded my head towards my friends. As Beth followed me into our usual area of the Inter-House Common Room, I thanked Merlin the topic had gone from rating girls to the Falcons game against the Kestrels the other day. Merlin knows what would've happened if she'd heard the way we spoke about guys; it probably wouldn't have helped my argument that we were actually a nice group of guys, it probably served as evidence against that. Still, it was only something we did to pass the time, and I found myself taking part in it even less recently.

"I'm still pissed off I lost five Galleons on that match. Who knew the losers would pull through?"

"The Kestrels were in _much_ better formation. They deserved to win."

"Are you joking? Broadmoor was good as _both_ your Beaters."

"The only reason Broadmoor is on that team is because he's a legacy," Beth said, sitting down in the armchair I'd previously vacated on the edge of the group. The boys looked up in surprise as she spoke up, and I fought to suppress a smile as they practically drooled at the sight of her. "Did you see that Bludger Backbeat from the Kestrels in the first half? Perfectly timed."

"I – I didn't realise you were a Quidditch fan, Tindall," Ben said, stuttering slightly. I couldn't help but cringe as I noted his flushed cheeks, hoping my friendship group weren't always so ridiculously obvious around girls we fancied. "I've never been good at it myself, but I'm a keen follower," she admitted, grinning widely at him. "Dad and me had season tickets up until I went to Hogwarts."

"Season tickets for the Kestrels? That's pretty dedicated for a Northern girl," I said, leaning on the arm of her chair. "Oh no, I'm not a Kestrels fan," Beth said, laughing at the confusion. "I'm an Arrows girl." "Merlin, just when I thought you couldn't get any more attractive," Lucas, one of the biggest Arrows fans I'd ever met, murmured softly.

He turned to face her properly, asking her which match she'd seen live had been her favourite: his eyes lighting up as she spoke earnestly about the 2017 win against their biggest rivals, the Wimbourne Wasps. But I found myself zoning out, less focused on their conversation and more on the blonde Weasley cousin who'd walked into the Inter-House Common Room, a concerned look on his face as he briskly made his way over to us.

"Scor, can I talk to you outside?" Louis said once he reached my side. I took in his cheeks, flushed from the cold Scottish air and the furrow of his brow and nodded, both of us waving a hand to the other boys and Beth before making our way outside the Common Room.

I turned to look over my shoulder, just to check Beth was okay, and smiled as I saw her laughing at something one of the other boys had said. Though my mother had always reminded me that it was less important to have a lot of friends and more important to have real ones, I was happy to see the boys genuinely making an effort to make her feel welcome. A girl as nice as Beth deserved a group of friends she could hang out with when Hugo was busy.

The large double doors shut behind us and Louis sighed, before double-checking there was no one else in the corridor. "Merlin, Lou," I said, shaking my head in disbelief at my friend, who I'd not seen this concerned for a long time. "What's happened? Are you okay?"

"Yeah, mate, it's not me… I think you need to go check on Rose."

* * *

Even from as low down as the entrance of the Quidditch pitch, I could see the fury on Rose's face as she swung at Bludgers, gripping a Beater's bat so tightly that her knuckles were turning white.

Louis had told me that he'd been on his way to the Owlery when he'd looked down the stairs and saw his cousin storming over to the Quidditch Pitch, a trunk of Quidditch equipment in one hand and her broom in the other.

Rose had been in an irritable mood recently, though none of us, including Albus or Alice, knew the reason why. She hadn't been hanging with the rest of us as a group as much; in fact, recently I'd only spent extended periods of time with her when it was just the two of us, whether that was in class or studying together. Toby had shrugged his shoulders and said that it was probably that time of the month, though none of us were stupid enough to ask Rose or the other girls if that was the reason for her drastically different behaviour.

But deep down, I'd known it was more than that.

Despite the foul language, previous habitual duelling with me, and all the pranks that she was the undetected mastermind of, Rose had always been polite and respectful of the teachers at Hogwarts. However earlier in the week, she'd been pretty much unresponsive in all our classes, and she'd reached breaking point in our Charms double, being so openly rude to Professor Davies that she'd received a detention for insolence.

I dropped my broom, letting it roll onto the grass, and looked around the vast Quidditch pitch. It was a lot bigger and brighter than it had been when my father was at Hogwarts; we'd learned in both Defence Against the Dark Arts and History of Magic that our school's original Quidditch pitch had been burned down by Snatchers during the Battle of Hogwarts. But I knew Rose felt exactly the same as I did when I was flying around this pitch: it was a good way to blow off steam.

I coughed, clearing my throat, before cupping my hands around my mouth to project my voice. "Decent arm you've got there, Weasley. You'd be a great Beater. We could use you on the Slytherin team." She turned her head to look at me, and for a split second I thought she was going to ignore me and continue flying. But I watched her shoulders droop, before she turned her broom towards me and began flying down towards me.

"How did you know I was here?"

"Louis told me," I said, walking towards her and speeding up slightly as I spotted a Bludger flying towards the direction of my head. She ran towards me, dropping her broom and extending her arm so she could hit it away from me, a powerful _crack_ ringing through the air as the bat connected with the Bludger. "Thanks. Now, cut the crap, Rosie. What's been up with you recently?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Rose said icily, her lips pursed at me. I could see the defiant look on her face, but I'd also learned that Rose didn't always come at face value. I could see the sadness in her big blue eyes, but I could tell that she did not want to discuss whatever was upsetting her.

I closed the distance between us, wrapping my arms around her slim, petite body and inhaling her fruity and floral smell. I felt her relax in my arms, as if my touch was relieving all tension from her body. "You know I'm always here for you, Rose," I murmured into the top of her hair. "If you ever do need to talk to someone about whatever is upsetting you. Or just talk about anything. I'm always here for you." "Thanks Scor," she said against my chest, so softly that I thought I'd imagined her hot breath against my jumper.

An indication of how much I'd fallen for Rose was the overwhelming urge to stay in that position for as long as possible, with her body pressed against mine and our arms around one another. I didn't particularly have many female friends, nor had I ever cared for someone in the same way I cared for her, and it terrified me how willing I was to go out of my way to put a smile on her face.

_Crack._

I pulled away from Rose, to see her holding the Beater's bat upright, a sheepish look on her face. "Sorry," she said, her cheeks pink. "It was either ruin the moment or take you to the Hospital Wing after a Bludger hit to the head." "Ruin the moment, huh?" I said teasingly, resisting the urge to cheer as her blush spread to the tips of her ears. I raised my eyebrows suggestively and she pushed me lightly in the square of my chest with her spare hand. "Shut _up_ Scor."

"Hey, hey, hey!" I said, running away from her and grinning as she began charging after me. I dived for the box of Quidditch equipment she'd hauled down to the pitch and pulled out the second Beater's bat, waving it at her as she reached my side. "Come on, Rosie Posie. Every time I hit a Bludger I'll pretend it's my grandfather having a go at me."

Rose elbowed me in the side, throwing her long, red waves back as she laughed at me. Our heads both turned as we heard the _whoosh_ of the Bludger beginning to fly towards us. Rose turned to face it head-on, so her shoulders were hips-width apart and her bat was raised, her lips curving into a smirk as she looked at me. "You'd better not hit me this time."


End file.
